The Mark
by plaguemysoul
Summary: Since born, Sookie has had a birthmark on the back of her neck that looks like the initials of someone's name. Vampire Eric has a mark of initials on his back also, that developed on the day of Sookie's birth. Both have each other's initials on their skin. Both are soul mates. But will they let it happen or keep resisting when both are stubborn? AU/Lang. Eric/Sookie.
1. Chapter 1

**First, I own nothing to do with True Blood. I'm just a huge fan, especially of Eric and Sookie. I'm just doing this for my own entertainment and hopefully, the entertainment of others as well. I'm still writing my other story, I just felt like writing something fresh and a bit different.**

**I know, I keep coming up with strange stories. But this one stuck with me, and it's probably too weird. Eric and Sookie are soul mates in this one. Has that been overdone? Anyone, if you would be interested in more of this one, do feel free to let me know. I'd love to know whether you think it's stupid, silly, crazy, something that interests you, or otherwise. So please don't hesitate to let me know :)**

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_**The Mark**_

It had started when Eric woke from his coffin feeling less than his usual badass self. Dare he admit it to himself, he felt like he was experiencing some kind of cold- a typical human ailment. He felt heady, and lethargic for reasons he could not understand. For nearly a thousand-years straight he had felt his very best, and then a week ago, out of nowhere, he had started feeling like..._ shit_.

It did not go unnoticed by his progeny, Pamela. She had noticed his moods were temperamental at best, ranging from psychotic to miserable at the drop of a hat. He no longer felt the urge to fuck any humans and to a vampire like Eric fucking Northman, who many humans declared was walking sex on a stick, it was bizarre for her to have to witness. Not to mention equally disturbing and troubling on her.

He was simply not himself lately and for Pam, who had been at her Maker's side for over a hundred years now, it was seriously concerning her deeply. Not only did she have to see him look so bad with his fluctuating moods, she had also felt him through their Maker-Progeny bond. He was acting like a bipolar human lately; A mopey teen.

When she found him one night going through the books at his desk, she decided to bring it up with him then. "What the fuck is wrong with you lately?" she asked him in outrage, setting her manicured hands on her hips as she stood by the door, looking in. "You're Eric fucking Northman! You have humans lining up to fuck you left, right, and center, and yet, you're in here doing paperwork, of all things? What has happened to you?"

"I'm not feeling so good, Pam," he admitted to her, with shame. He was not proud for her to have to see him this way- so... unpredicatable and listless lately.

"No shit, Eric." He sounded just as terrible as he was feeling; His voice raspy and painful, and it broke her heart to see him this way. "You've been this way all week. This is so not you!" Suddenly Pam recalled the human he had fed from last week- the human woman looked trashy and grubby- and it all instantly made sense. "Oh, fuck Eric," she hissed anxiously. "That human you fed from last week that night! I told you something was wrong with her. She probably gave you whatever filthy fucking disease she had!"

"No, she didn't smell diseased to me, Pam," Eric argued, shoving all the paperwork aside on his desk. He leaned back in his chair, putting his shoes on the table while rubbing his temples with his fingers, trying to ease the painful cramping around his skull. "It can't be her. I don't know what it is, but it can't be her."

"Then what the fuck is going on here?" she cried hopelessly.

Pam had meant that as a simple rhetorical question but the simmering of rage that passed through her Maker onto her made her wish she had kept her mouth shut. Eric's eyes were dark with rage and his fangs flipped down at her.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know, Pam?" He erupted loudly at her through gritted teeth and she flinched. She had to put up with his explosive and volatile moods like this all week and still, it managed to catch her off-guard each and everytime. Still, angry Eric was better than emotional, crying Eric. "Don't you think I would very much like to know the answer to that myself?"

"Well, then. Maybe we should consider calling Dr. Ludwig so she can tell us what the fuck is wrong with you? She'll know what to do."

"Give it another week, Pam," Eric said dismissively. Truth be told, even as a vampire, he was still terrified of doctors, no matter how short and Hobbit-like Dr. Ludwig was. It made him shudder; Simply thinking about calling the doctor.

Then he felt it. A terrible itch precisely in the middle of his back, unreachable by his hands.

He started panicking then. He had never felt this low and weak before, not once in a thousand-years. Maybe Pam was right? Maybe that pathetically desperate human he had fed on that night had given him a sexually transmitted disease or something?

Pam felt her stomach drop in despair when she watched her maker start shuffling around in the chair, rubbing himself up and down against it with his back. She feared then that he was starting to lose his mind. When he started making low appreciative groans from at the back of his throat, his eyes fluttering closed in relief, Pam wondered if he truly had lost it. "What the fuck are you doing now?" she asked him, confused.

"What?" He stopped rubbing himself against the armrest of the chair, lifting his eyebrows at her quizically. "I'm itchy, Pam."

_Itchy? Oh, hell, that wasn't good. It wasn't a good sign at all._

"Your itchy?" Pam repeated, her voice panic-striken. "Eric, you have never been itchy before. I'm telling you; That stupid human gave you a disease or something! In all the years I have been with you so far, fucking and killing and laughing, you have _never once_ itched! Can't you see? The whore gave you a sexually transmitted disease or something! I owned a brothel, Eric, I think I'd know a thing or two about diseases!"

While Eric felt touched by her concern, it was grating on his nerves. "I don't mean itching near my junk, Pam," he clarified loudly, rolling his eyes at her. "It's my back!"

"Isn't this reason enough that we should call Dr. Ludwig?"

"No, no Dr. Ludwig. Do you know what I truly need, Pam?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes filled with pity. "What?"

When he rose to his full height, stepping closer to where Pam was standing while his hands worked at unbuttoning the black shirt he was wearing, she felt her lips lift into a smirk. _He couldn't possibly mean them fucking? Surely now wasn't the time? They hadn't fucked in over a year!_

"Seriously, Eric? You want me to-"

He cut her off desperately as he tore the fabric of his shirt off his shoulders, chucking it behind him carelessly, "Scratch my back for me, will you?"

He turned away from her so Pam couldn't see anything else but the paleness of his toned back and the way his jeans rode low around his pelvis. Instead of putting her in a good mood, she felt even more distressed when she saw what was on his back. There was a mark there; A mark that hadn't been there before had developed, a red bumpy mark. It was not known that a vampire could get rashes or develop some kind of skin fungus, but clearly her maker had.

"Oh god," she gasped sadly, taking in the round mark of blistering skin with some confusion. "What have you done to yourself?"

"What do you mean?" Eric asked, and he sounded absolutely clueless. "I haven't done anything, Pam?"

"But there's a big fucking rash on your back?"

"What?" Eric turned, meeting her eyes. She saw nothing but confusion in his eyes, bewilderment around his face. "I'm itchy, right up in the middle of my back. Even now, it's... irritating. Can you just scratch it for me already?" He was growing aggravated. Clearly this was one rash that needed to be itched, and quickly.

Pam hesitated, scrutinizing her neatly trimmed fingernails. She had only just gotten them professionally manicured. It wasn't cheap. "With these artfully decorated nails?"

"Oh, so you care more about your nails than you do your poor maker. Is that it, Pam?"

"Of course not," she shot back at him testily. "But if you get dead skin and blood under my nails, you're paying for it."

Eric's mischievous, low laughter filled her ears and she couldn't help smiling fondly at the sound of it. "Fair enough, Pam. If I end up mucking up your nails, I'll pay for your next manicure."

"You already did pay for them," she pointed out, bracing herself, her fingers arched like claws near the nape of his neck.

"I knew that already, Pam. Trust me."

"Okay, here we go. Brace yourself, fucker."

Much as Pam adored Eric, this was not a pleasant experience on her. The first raking of her fingernails down his back made Eric grunt in pleasure and shiver from head-to-toe, while in contrast, it made Pam very nearly gag at the sensation of having his old skin catch in the tips of her fingernails. When she lifted her hand, inspecting her nails in distaste, surely enough she could see the peels of dead and dry skin that had come off his back along with it. When she looked at the rash on his back, she observed with horror that half of his skin had came off, making way for new skin. There was something underneath the skin, some kind of mark or branding. This reminded her of what happens to lowly humans when they get sunburns.

"That's weird," she muttered to herself, as she dug her thumbnail from the start of the rash, downwards, taking a lot more skin with it, picking and pulling it off. "God, Eric. You're like a reptilian shedding skin. This is disgusting, but there's definitely something there."

"Something there?"

Eric turned to look at her again, but she grabbed him by the shoulder roughly warning him to keep still. Grabbing the last bit of skin between her thumb and forefinger, she yanked the last of it down without warning. It obviously wasn't hurting her maker; He made no sign of discomfort whatsoever. If anything, he made another low grumble of relief.

Pam was silent for a very long minute, turning her head this way and that way, trying to decipher what the mark said on his back. It looked like two S's to her, although she couldn't be sure. After a moment of silent consideration, Eric sighed impatiently and looked back at her quizzically. Her bright red lipstick painted lips were pinched thoughtfully.

"Well?" He prodded hoarsely. "What... what was it, Pam?"

"I don't know," she admitted with a shrug.

"You don't know?" Eric repeated, disappointed. "What do you mean you don't know, Pam?"

"Well, it looks like a mark, that's what it looks like. After I removed all those sheds of skin from the rash, it looked like a letter of the alphabet. An S. Two S's."

"Two S's?" Eric repeated, stunned. He had never heard anything like this at all. "Meaning what?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know, Eric? God, I don't know. But maybe it's someone's initials? Who the fuck knows what it means? For all we know, it could mean jack shit." Taking him by the bare, muscular shoulders roughly, she started steering and guiding him along to where the mirror was in the staff restrooms. "Look at it for yourself."

Eric looked at his reflection, but all he could see was how great his body was. How athletic and toned, a Viking God.

"Pam, I know how good looking I am," he told her slyly. "I know my body is the-"

"- Get the eff over yourself already," Pam snapped, shoving him into another position, another angle so that he could properly see the mark on his back. When he finally caught sight of it, Eric was silent for a very long moment, too flabbergasted to speak. What was the meaning of this? He definitely didn't have any mark of the sort like that before- and he'd know, he enjoyed watching his reflection and admiring how badass and handsome he was every now and then.

He tore his eyes from his reflection to stare at Pam instead. He swallowed loudly. "What the hell is going on with me?" he asked her fearfully.

Pam would have loved to know the answer to that herself.

SXEXSXE

_THAT SAME TIME IN HOSPITAL..._

"God, fuck! I can't take this any more! Get her out, please!"

Michelle Stackhouse's strangled cries as she thrashed around in the hospital bed weren't doing Corbett any favors in relaxing as he paced back and forth around the room in the hospital. It had been a long labor with Michelle experiencing her first contraction in the early morning hours. Now, it was eleven thirty at night, and both Corbett and Michelle felt equally drained and wrought with overwhelming emotions. They both just really wanted it to be over already.

Their second child, a girl, was on her way to being delivered into the wonderful, big world and Corbett had never felt more scared yet ecstatic in his life. Their first child Jason was currently being babysat at his mother Adele's house, and in a couple of hours time, Jason would finally have the sibling he had been wishing for.

This latest pregnancy hadn't been as easy on Michelle as it had been with Jason.

They had a scare at four months in, when the doctor in the hospital had declared he hadn't found a heartbeat and that Michelle was not pregnant after all. But after getting a second opinion by an older, more experienced doctor, their fears vanished when he had confirmed it was an error with the ultrasound and that their baby was perfectly healthy. Not only was the child healthy and strong with its heartbeat, it was a girl this time around.

A boy and a girl. The perfect, complete happy family.

"It hurts," Michelle was wailing, clutching her swollen belly miserably. "Corbett, it hurts so badly! I want her out!"

"Stay calm, Michelle," Corbett brought himself to speak weakly, approaching the bed. He reached out, touching her hot belly gently. "You have to remain calm. Remember the maternity nurse telling us that last time with Jason? You have to remain calm so that our little baby girl isn't stressed herself, all right?"

"Sookie," Michelle said out of nowhere, and she started moaning and writhing again. "We're calling her Sookie and I don't care if you think it's a shit name! I'm the one giving birth to this baby, I'm the one in pain, so I think it's only fair I get to call the shots on what to name her!"

"Sookie?" Corbett was hardly enthused about that name, it sounded weird and foreign to him. Like an Asian name, not a good Southern name. Yet when Michelle focused on him with glassy, pained eyes, it was a fierce look that shut him up pretty quickly. Instead, he smiled and took her hand, which she clung onto like it was a rope that could save her. "Sookie is the most beautiful, perfect name for her, baby," he said gently. "Sookie's absolutely perfect. Why would I argue with you on that?"

Finally, the baby was on its way out, the nurses and doctors came in to assist, encouraging Michelle to push, and Corbett had to quickly look away. It was becoming too much on him.

It was only when he heard the first cry of the baby that he turned and he felt his eyes well up with tears when he saw Michelle holding their little baby girl in her arms, her tiny face near her breasts. She had a small smattering of light hair on the top of her head and when Corbett approached the bed, Michelle looked up at him, crying softly in joy.

"Sookie," she said happily, her voice breathless with exhaustion. "This is our daughter Sookie."

After they got familiarized with their baby, the nurse took her for a moment to weigh her and ensure she was a safe weight and that she had all her fingers and toes.

"Congratulations," the female nurse said in a soothing voice once she was done with the checkup. "She's perfect and healthy. Her weight is a bit small but after a few good feeds, she'll fatten up quite quickly. The only thing is that she has a birthmark on the back of her neck, but that is nothing to be concerned about. In fact, it's quite common and completely harmless."

Corbett sat on the edge of the bed carefully as the nurse handed their baby back to them. They both looked at the birthmark curiously. The skin on the back of her neck was pink and mottled, shaped like an E and an N, strangely enough.

"Looks like initials," Corbett said, touching the skin with care. Her skin was smooth and soft, the mark not raised or out of place on her skin at all.

"Yes, that's odd, isn't it?" The nurse laughed. "It sure does look like an E and an N, but all birthmarks come in different shapes or sizes. They call it a Stork bite, if you wanna get technical. Or an angel's kiss or salmon patch, whatever you prefer to call it. It's harmless, Mr. and Mrs. Stackhouse, I assure you."

Once Michelle started dozing off with baby Sookie, Corbett stood quietly from the hospital bed and excused himself for a moment to ring his mother to inform her and Jason of the news that Sookie had arrived, perfect as can be. He even filled Adele in on the birthmark on the back of her neck.

_If only he knew what that birthmark had truly entailed..._

SXEXSXE

_TWENTY YEARS LATER..._

The heavy metal music was pumping loudly around the room at Fangtasia as Eric sat up in his chair, watching the humans around him move. Two humans, two women, stood directly in front of him and they kept glancing up at him to make sure his attention was solely on them while they moved; bumping hips and grinding against each other. The two might as well be fucking right there on the dance floor, Eric thought to himself, and he had to stifle a smile.

He wasn't one for smiling, especially not while on duty up there in his chair. If he smiled, the humans would mistakenly believe he was smiling at them and they would try to approach, thinking he was inviting them to come on to him. It was hilariously pathetic; How humans somehow got it into their thick skulls that they were a match to him. Far as Eric was concerned, he was a Viking God, one that no humans could ever be worthy of. He had to admit it was rather amusing, watching human after human attempt to capture his interests.

That evening, with the two women, it was no different.

He stared at the pair impassively, raking his eyes down their bodies every now and then. So their show was fairly entertaining, but neither of them were all that good looking. Eric did not like humans, and he prided himself on not having any special feelings for them. He hadn't yet met a human he did feel especially attracted to, not once in that full century of living- aside from Pam before he made her into what she was, of course.

The only thing these humans had going for them was what was inside of them, their blood. Blood bags, the whole lot of them. Vermin. Cows with brains.

All the way from where he was sitting, with his heightened sense of hearing, he could hear the friction of their tiny denim shirts rubbing together. The little groans the pair made every time they brushed against each other. He opened his mouth slightly, inhaling in their arousal. They were turning each other on. Instead of feeling turned on himself, Eric felt the opposite. His nose wrinkled in disgust and he let his left eye wander to where Pam was watching the pair herself with avid interest, her hand on her hip. Lifting his hand off the armrest, Eric gestured for Pam to come to him, and she did without hesitation, climbing up the stage in her heels and resting her hip against the back of his chair.

Leaning down, she put her mouth near his ear, proceeding to speak in Swedish, "Look at them. What a bunch of horny idiots."

"They are pathetic," Eric replied to her emotionlessly. "Is it just me or do they get even more pathetic every year?"

"Oh, no. It most definitely isn't just you."

One of the women decided she was bored with dancing and to their disbelief, she had the nerve to approach the stage, going so far as to get up on her knees, then stand, walking towards them confidently.

"Is she stupid or is she brave?" Pam said in surprise, still in Swedish.

Eric's eyebrows rose at the girl as she smiled coyly at him. This one was definitely daring. And senseless. "Stupid," he said quickly, before rising to his feet and holding his hand out to the young woman, laying it on thick with the charm.

The woman looked shocked for all of a minute before she shook her brown hair out across her shoulders, a cocky smile coming across her face. She stumbled closer in her heels to accept his much larger hand and, playing it up even more, he raised her hand to his lips in a suave yet privately mocking way. He was trying to amuse Pam, and he knew he had succeeded when he heard the derisive laughter that got stuck in her throat. The girl knew no different, however. She just blushed, probably not quite willing to believe her luck in being the object of Eric Northman's attention this evening.

"Haven't you heard not to play with your food, Eric?" Pam spoke in Swedish, her voice singing with malicious amusement.

"You're right, Pam. I have heard that."

Scaring the young woman, he retracted his fangs while grabbing her waist, pulling her in close. She struggled but she was no match for him and when Eric moved his mouth closer to her neck, her struggles grew even more vigorous and intense. She was fun for a good minute or two, until he quickly felt himself growing bored again, so he pushed her off the stage carelessly and she staggered into the woman she had been dirty-dancing with ungraciously. She looked up at him, a curse word on her tongue for him in anger, and being the asshole that he loved to be, Eric simply winked at her before lowering himself back into his seat. He watched the woman he had played with stalk off through the crowd and his grin widened when he heard his progeny's laughter in his ear.

"You're as cold a bastard as ever, I see," she said, erupting into more laughter and when he shot a look in her direction, lifting an eyebrow, she tried to suppress her laughter by mashing her bright pink lips together. It only just made a swell of tenderness run through him.

"Always for your entertainment only," he told Pam softly, and he meant it.

Marring through what he felt was a touching moment with his Pam, he felt the mark in the center of his back itch again and he sat up straighter, rolling his shoulders around to try to ease it. The itching had happened constantly ever since the mark had formed on him, sometimes at random times, and it was irritating as ever, even after twenty years of having to endure it. A year after it had developed and after constant pestering from Pam to get Dr. Ludwig to check it out, Eric had finally agreed.

Much to his disappointment, there was nothing Dr. Ludwig could do. She hadn't any idea what the mark represented. All she had recommended was that he feel free to scratch it whenever the urge presented itself, as clearly it couldn't have gotten any worse if he did scratch it constantly. It was annoying as fuck, though.

And poor Pam, she had been employed as permanent back-scratcher all throughout the twenty years.

"Be a good daughter and give it a scratch, will you?" Eric suggested to Pam, knowing full well she didn't enjoy it when she did have to, and yet wickedly enjoying it.

"Fine," she sighed unhappily.

Pam had no choice but to comply to his wishes; She yanked the neck of his shirt loose at the back so she could slip her fingers and arm down inside, and she started scratching dutifully. Eric's eyes rolled back inside his head and Pam felt him shudder. While it irritated her, having to scratch Eric's back and have her nails feel disgusting afterwards, she couldn't deny she would do anything within her capabilities to offer her maker at least a slice of relief. So scratching his mark, it was.

SXEXSXE

Several nights later, Sookie snuck in the storeroom at Merlotte's, resting her shoulder against the wall to give herself some balance, shoving her pencil down the back of her neck so that she could reach her birthmark, scratching away.

She sighed in relief, pleased that she could at least reach it with the tip of her pencil. It had been giving her grief all day. Lately, her birthmark had been itching like crazy on her. She wasn't entirely sure why. She had considered getting it checked out by one of those professional skin doctors, but her Gran had assured her it was just a harmless birthmark. That didn't explain why it kept bothering her the way it did.

But really, who was she kidding? It was the least of her worries, the niggling itchiness of her birthmark.

Sometimes she enjoyed doing this; In sneaking into the quiet, empty storeroom alone. It wasn't just only so that she could scratch her back in private using her pencil. It was... everything. The constant noise around the bar, the thoughts that assaulted her constantly daily. It was just nice to sneak away a couple of times and have a bit of time to herself, to catch a break.

Once she felt satisfied for the time being, she straightened up her ponytail and pulled her white shirt down neatly over her shorts before bracing herself and heading back out. She put one of her helpful smiles strategically in place before getting back into it; In going around the room, making sure customers were pleased with their meals and drinks and checking if they needed anything else.

One of the regulars was being a real pain with her tonight. He had come in every night for the past two weeks, always staring at her and trying to make casual conversation with her. He was fairly good looking, about a couple of years older than her twenty-one years. She could hear the lewd comments he was thinking about her, every time she walked past him. He'd think about how good her legs looked in her shorts, he'd wonder if she was available to take out on a date. And she was available; Sookie couldn't recall a time when she wasn't.

She hadn't been much of a dater, simply because she could hear what people were thinking of her, and it was hard to maintain a normal relationship with a man otherwise. Really, she hadn't met a man who she had felt insanely attracted to yet, but that didn't mean she didn't long to meet a handsome, captivating stranger every now and then. It would have been nice to no longer feel so alone in the world.

But no man had captured her attention as yet, and if she was going to start considering dating someone, she would have preferred it to be with a man whose thoughts she couldn't hear. It was hard to find a suitable man whose thoughts she couldn't however.

Unless they were a vampire, of course...

Vampires had come out into the open just only three years ago and she had only met a vampire once, when he had entered the bar. She had served him, as he choose to sit in her partition. To her delight, she found that his mind was completely silent to her, that she couldn't hear an ounce of what he was thinking or feeling in regards to the sight of her. It had been an exciting discovery to know that vampires could offer her the silence she had so long sought. But would she ever consider dating a vampire? On that, she was undecided. That didn't mean she didn't like vampires or that she was as hateful as some of the people were in town. In fact, she was impartial to it all.

But darn it, if there weren't times she didn't wish a vampire would randomly pop into the bar so she could experience that brilliant silence again...

She got through the last half of her shift before her neck started irritating her again, so when she made sure nobody was looking, she closed herself off into the storeroom again. She had only slipped the pencil under the fabric of her shirt when her boss, Sam, suddenly entered the storeroom without warning and she gasped fearfully.

"Hey, Sook. What you doing back here?"

"Sorry, Sam. My birthmark has just been giving me grief lately. I really had to scratch it, and I don't feel it's at all that polite to do it in front of customers while they are eating. Don't exactly want to turn them off their food!"

Sam had always been a fair and decent boss to her. So she was relieved when he simply smiled and stepped past her to open a few boxes of beers that were running low in the fridge out at the bar.

"You ever thought about getting it checked out, Cher?" he asked her as he crouched down by a few other boxes, reading the labels carefully.

"Gran says there isn't much point to it. It's just a birthmark."

"Yeah, but... if it's been bothering you?" He looked her over with some concern. "If it's bothering you all the time, that can't be all that normal, right?"

"Yeah, I've definitely wondered about it. But I'm assuming they'll just say the same thing Gran has told me." Sookie watched Sam curiously as he opened another box, pulling out two bottles of synthetic blood. She felt her heart pick up a notch in her chest. "Wait. We finally got some more vampire customers coming in here tonight?"

"Yep, we do," Sam said, shrugging. "Two of them."

Oh, finally. Finally she was going to have a bit of silence to drown everyone else out...

Sookie felt more excited than what was probably healthy and smart of her. She felt her smile widen and when Sam glanced back at her, he gave her a weird look. Was she acting too overeager by the news? "Should I be the one to serve them?"

"Well, you might as well. They _are_ in your area, Cher."

"Don't worry. I'll try keep my scratching to a minimum," she told him playfully, and at that, she rushed back out, leaving Sam alone in the storeroom.

When she got back into the room, Sookie closed her eyes for a moment, swept up in the peace and quiet that came along with the two vampires presence in the bar. It was like soaking your feet in cool water after having been standing on them all day long. It was relieving and it relaxed her like nothing else on the planet.

When she slowly reopened her eyes, she followed the silence, finding the two vampires almost immediately at once. They were sitting across from one another at a table. One was facing away from her so she could only see his blonde head, while the other facing her was dark-haired, with old-fashioned sideburns. Halfway towards the two and with her tense smile in place, the dark-haired vampires eyes flitted to her. The other blonde vampire, following the others gaze, turned to look curiously over his shoulder himself. That was when her birthmark started playing up again on her, like crazy. She tried to ignore it, tried to ignore the discomfort. But it was seriously hard work.

Once Sookie finally reached them, the dark-haired man looked away. The blonde vampire didn't however, and she grew self-conscious as his clear blue eyes looked her up and down shamelessly, lingering on her face and particularly her bare legs in her shorts. The vampire was handsome, at least; Perhaps more handsome than his dark-haired companion. His hair was parted and slicked back neatly behind his earlobes, and from what she could see of him, he was wearing leather and all-black clothes. He had a strong nose, the pale skin that most vampires had which made his lovely eyes stand out, a dimple in the center of his chin. But he had an air of arrogance that radiated off him like a separate life-force.

"I was just telling my friend Bill over here that this place is so much smaller than how it looks on the outside," the blonde vampire said to her, his voice deep and attractive. "Boring, too. What's with the décor and all the dead animals on the walls?"

Sookie felt suddenly on the defensive, as if he had insulted her himself. "Well, that's because Sam likes it this way," she explained to him stiffly. "I happen to think it has a lot of... character." She noticed a distinctively uncomfortable look come across the blonde vampires expression and subtly, he moved his hand to the back of his neck, under the collar of his leather jacket. It appeared as if he was scratching his back, and seeing the vampire do it, it made her envious that she couldn't relieve herself and scratch hers with her pencil. "Anyhow, what can I get you both tonight?"

"Yes, I believe it is safe to assume that both Eric and I will have a TruBlood, if you have any available?" The dark-haired vampire spoke politely yet curtly, his voice heavily Southern.

She looked at the blonde vampire out of the corner of her eye. He was rubbing his back against the seat in the booth, as if he had a severe itch.

"Sure, we do. In fact, Sam just only got some out of the storeroom, so you're in luck." She let her eyes drift back to the blonde vampire. She arched her eyebrows. "Feeling itchy, are we?"

The blonde vampire nodded once. "Tremendously."

She caught a glimpse of the tips of his shining white fangs as he spoke the word. She felt fascination take hold of her, but she knocked it away quickly.

"Oh, I know the feeling. Been itching like crazy lately." Before she could stop herself, she lifted her arm back over her head, shoving her pencil under her shirt to scratch at her neck again. Then she noticed the two vampires exchanged a look with one another, and suddenly she felt foolish. "Uh, excuse me," she said nervously. "Anyway, I'll be right back with your drinks. Don't mind me."

It was only when Sookie walked towards the bar to fetch and prepare their drinks off Sam, getting some distance between the two, that she noticed the itchiness of her birthmark dissipated, if slightly.

**So... what did you think? Worth continuing or was it too weird and silly? Too out of character? Please let me know your thoughts.  
Thanks for reading! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all so much for your lovely responses and reviews! It means a lot, I was thinking no one would like the idea of it, as it's probably way too weird. Just like me, I'm weird lol.**

**Hoping you enjoy this one, I'm sorry if it's a disappointment.** **I'd love to know your thoughts, as usual. Thanks again!**

* * *

_**Chapter Two**_

While Sookie was waiting for the bottle of bloods to heat up in the microwave, she felt an odd sensation; A tickling in the back of her scalp, and when she glanced behind her shoulder to where the vampires were sitting in her section at their table, she discovered that the blonde vampire was staring at her. It was a strange intense look, while the other dark-haired vampire was trying to capture his attention and maintain conversation with him. Only, the blonde's eyes were just for her.

Usually Sookie found it creepy, if a man stared at her in an overly fixated way. When she saw him lick his lips with his tongue slowly, all the while keeping his blue eyes on nothing else but hers, she ought to have felt insulted. Disgusted, even. He was licking his chops like she was on the menu for dinner.

And to him, being a vampire, she probably would have been his dinner, in other circumstances.

But she had to glance away a second later, turning back to Sam as he pulled the bottles of synthetic blood from the microwave. She hadn't looked away out of being disturbed that he was staring at her, quite predatorily like a creep. She had only glanced away because she felt suddenly self conscious, suddenly aware of her insufficiencies.

Usually customers ignored her like the plague, because they had heard of the rumors passing around that Sookie was supposedly crazy, due to her gift. Others that didn't ignore her were just unaware of what people thought of her in the first place. Right now, she decided, she would have preferred to be ignored by the vampire.

"All done now, Sookie," Sam said, passing her the bottles.

She placed them on her tray and went behind the bar, searching for two sparkling clean wine glasses. Once she found them, she placed both of them on the tray as well, lifted it off the bench by one hand, and made a start back towards where the two vampires were sitting.

The blonde vampire still had his eyes glued on her, for whatever reason. About halfway towards them, Sookie's birthmark started with its terrible itching again and she couldn't help sighing in annoyance through her mouth. She had no idea on earth why it seemed to be playing up on her this evening, of all nights, but she wondered if it had something to do with the two vampires in the bar; She had noticed when she got further and further away that her birthmark hadn't bothered her that much. Now that she was back standing in front of the pair, it was bothering her again.

Usually it wasn't this persistent.

"Well, here's your bloods," she said, placing their heated bottles on the table ceremoniously. "And here's two wine glasses in case you don't want it straight from the bottle."

Eric hardly heard a word the blonde waitress was saying.

There was an odd faint humming noise in his ears, his mark was bothering him like fuck, and worst of all, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off the little waitress human- no matter how hard he tried. And to Eric Northman, who liked to pride himself on not feeling any personal or emotional responses to humans, the fact he couldn't take his eyes off her was troubling enough.

It was like there was this strange pull there, like they were magnets and he was being tugged closer and closer to her. She wasn't the best looking human he had seen, but she was pretty high up there; Her hair a white blonde, her waist slim yet the rest of her curvy. Those shorts she was wearing definitely showcased her tanned, slender legs, and the T-shirt she was wearing with the Merlotte's emblem on the left breast was fairly tight and clingy and he could see her breasts were more than a handful's worth in size.

Above all that, though, was that she did not smell like the average ordinary human. There was a stronger fragrance when it came to her blood, and he caught himself wondering what she was. When he brought his eyes back to Bill Compton with some effort, he noticed Bill looked every bit as curious over the waitress as he did.

There was certainly something about her. She was definitely not simply human.

But he tried to beat all of what he was feeling down, schooling his face to look nothing but indifferent, and when the human smiled at them both before she left, Eric felt a horrible, unfamiliar feeling in the center of his chest at the sight of her smile. He definitely usually did not feel this way about humans. So why was he feeling it now, with her? He had only just barely met the human; she was nothing special, and he didn't even know her name or who she was. Yet Eric noticed his mark became more aggravating when she was around in close proximity to him and clearly she was experiencing a similar issue herself, considering the way her eyebrows would pinch together and she would shake her shoulders now and then as she walked around the room.

"She's rather beautiful, isn't she?" Bill asked quietly, bringing Eric out of his daydream.

Eric had almost forgotten where he was- and with whom. He hadn't met Bill just for the sake of it being a social call, after all. And there was no way Eric would be admitting to William Compton that _yes, yes, the human was rather beautiful and yes, she was going to be his._

Wait. What?

_She was going to be his..._ Where the fuck did that come from?

Possessive. Eric realized he was feeling possessive of this human waitress, so suddenly, and he wasn't even entirely sure why. All he knew was that the way Compton looked at her was beginning to rub him the wrong way, and he wanted to get her first before Compton succeeded. He wasn't used to feeling this way- certainly not about a human- so doing what Eric does best, he played it cool.

"You find her to be beautiful, Bill?" He made himself sound purposefully disgusted. "Why does that not surprise me? Of course you would. I've always pegged you down as a human lover."

"Surely you cannot deny that you feel the same way?" Bill dared to ask. "After all, you seem unable to look away from her. Isn't that a sign that you find her to be of great beauty yourself?"

* * *

The phone rang as Sookie went around tables. Since her boss wasn't busy tonight, he answered, and then he called Sookie over. "It's your friend again, Cher. Tara," he told her, with a bit of disapproval in his voice to let her know he didn't like his employees using the phones for personal calls during their working hours.

Sookie smiled at him apologetically as she accepted the phone from him.

"God, I'm so sorry, Sam!" This hadn't been the first time her best friend Tara Thornton had called her during her work hours. It was probably the... eighth time in two weeks. "I'll tell her not to call next time while I'm working, I promise!" Once Sam was gone and she had a bit of privacy, Sookie put the phone to her ear and sighed loudly. "Tara, please. You can't be calling me at work like this all the time! This had better be an emergency!"

"It is an emergency. I'm coming over. You better make a big, strong drink for me when I do."

Sookie glanced down at her wrist watch quickly. "Um, but you don't finish your shift until at least another two hours, Tara?"

"I don't work there anymore. I quit, Sook."

"Again?" Tara had been taking various jobs here and there for the past two years. And she had ended up quitting each and every one of them. "Tara, you can't just quit whenever you feel like it! What if there is a really good job you end up wanting in the future, and then they look at your employment history and see that you've been leaving every job every two weeks? You think that's gonna look good to them?"

"I don't give a shit. And besides, this latest boss was an even bigger asshole than the last one. It was so unfair, Sook."

"Why? What did this one do now?"

"He was going to make me work on weekends," Tara said to her friend glumly. "I said hell no, I ain't fucking sacrificing my weekends just to do this boring-ass job! No fucking way in hell!"

"I work weekends most of the time," Sookie pointed out. "But I'm glad you can be real selective about it all, unlike some of us. Some of us just have to sacrifice our weekends so that we can pay rent or help with the mortgage and bills! Haven't you noticed that's kind of what a job is, Tara? You've got to work weekends!"

"Yeah, but it isn't like you do anything on your weekends," Tara said. "You don't have parties to go to or a crazy ass cousin to follow around like I do!"

"Are you trying to say I have no social life? Gee, thanks." But it was true; Sookie didn't have much of a social life. She'd just go home straight after work, and she wasn't one for getting drunk at parties. She didn't like the total feeling of loss of control that alcohol gives you. "Fine, if you're coming in for a drink, I hope you know you're paying for it this time. I can't give you freebies all the time just because you're my best friend, and Sam would fire me if I did, and I can't risk that!"

"It's cool. I got some money on me."

"Then pay up." Sookie peeked over her shoulder, saw that her boss Sam was watching her. She had better hurry up. "Okay, well, see you soon. I've got to go, Sam's giving me the look!"

"All right. See you then. Bye."

Sookie slammed the phone down, straightened up her ponytail and quickly got back to work before Sam could make a comment over it. Her best friend Tara coming over to the bar for a drink made her feel surprisingly better and she started walking with a bigger bounce in her step, her smile so big and bright it would have scared customers off.

* * *

Eric hadn't realized his gaze had drifted back to her until he heard Bill point that out very clearly on him. And shit, he was right. Without knowing it, he had shifted slightly in the chair so that he could watch her every movement. There was a certain swing of the human waitresses hips when she walked. _So much for using the old denial routine..._

Eric moved back in the seat to face Bill, stretching his arms out on the back of the chair. Even with his head, Eric felt unnervingly as if he had invisible strings attached to it, strings that were being pulled sideways so that he could keep the blonde waitress in view. But he resisted it, with all his might, focusing a hard, sober stare on Bill instead.

"Careful of what you are accusing me of here, Bill," Eric said, in a low but perfectly clear voice. "I do not find humans beautiful. I was simply observing her because I have noticed there is something different about her. Is it just me, or is she not just... human?"

Bill was taking a sip of his synthetic blood. He made a choking noise at the back of his throat and brought his bottle down, wiping his mouth quickly. "Yes, I have noticed that for myself." Bill's teeth and fangs were stained from the drink. "She does certainly smell... different. Peculiar."

"But that is really enough about this. I did not come all the way here to talk about your appalling attraction to humans," Eric said, putting on his strong and commanding Sherriff voice. "I really didn't come here to gossip about a waitress that lives in this backwash town. You haven't been in this area for many years, and you failed to report to me. Why do you come back now?"

Bill looked suddenly uncomfortable, his eyes darting around the room. "I am afraid I cannot truly say," he replied nervously, filling a wine glass with the last of the artificial blood in his bottle. "I have been ordered not to disclose this to anyone."

"Ordered? By whom?"

"Well, by the Queen, for the matter."

"The Queen?" Eric asked through gritted teeth in surprise. Well, well. Hadn't Bill been promoted then, as Queen Sophie-Anne's personal errand-boy? "The Queen Sophie-Anne?"

"Yes. She has asked a personal assignment of me, one that I am obliged not to speak of to anyone. It is why I returned here." Bill's eyes darkened, turning suspicious. "How did you know I would be here?" he spat out.

"I've been following you for the past couple of nights, that's why."

"And why is that?"

Eric felt the corner of his mouth turn up. "Now, now, Bill. You know as much as anyone that it wouldn't be wise to question me." He was trying to show his authority, to demand Bill that he had best tell him what Queen Sophie-Anne had ordered him to do, but it was marred when he felt that irritating itch again. The blonde waitress appeared, almost out of nowhere. "Yes?" He asked her, and he knew he sounded rude. He hardly could bring himself to care, though. If there was one thing Eric hated most of all, it was being interrupted. "What do you want now, human?"

The human looked embarrassed for all of a second, before her look turned filthy at his tone. She looked him over with her dark brown eyes critically. He felt that weird humming sensation in his ears again. "Well, pardon me," she got out under her breath tartly. "I was just bothering to make sure there wasn't anything else I could get you both? Sorry for trying to be a friendly waitress."

"No, we are just fine," he replied, his voice even ruder and dismissive.

When the waitress went to leave, he stopped her by senselessly reaching out and grabbing her by her arm, wrenching her back. Her skin was soft, and pleasantly warm. She stiffened as she turned back to look down at him, and Eric knew he was being a bit too rough on her. Her expression said as much.

But before he could truly be concerned with how he was treating her, as if she was another useless human of little consequence, it happened.

A searing sudden pain resembling an electric shock zapped through the middle of his back, and he knew the human had felt it as well when a gasp slipped through her mouth. That persistent and annoying itching was suddenly gone, for inexplicable reasons. It had been bothering him for twenty years now, and what? All of a sudden, it had disappeared and stopped, all simply because he had touched this human? What the fuck?

Sookie felt all the air leave her body the instance she felt a terrible electric shock sensation on the back of her neck. She had very nearly jumped a centimeter off the ground like a startled cat, as the sensation came on so suddenly and unexpectedly. But it ended as quickly as it had began, and she grew aware that her birthmark had just as abruptly stopped giving her grief.

Then she became aware that the blonde vampire was gripping her forearm, rather tightly and unpleasantly, his cold large fingers overlapping and digging into her skin. She could tell a bruise was going to come later, but when she glanced down at his expression, both his fair eyebrows were raised, his mouth was slightly parted, and he appeared shocked. Had he felt it, too? That zapping sensation?

She felt her insides race with panic and her body tensed. What was going on? What was happening?

"Excuse me," she snapped in a choked, pained voice, when the vampires hold was beginning to become unbearably painful on her. She yanked and pulled, trying to get away. "You're kind of hurting me! Let me go!"

He was just staring at her face blankly, then he realized. He let her go without warning and she stumbled back in her sneakers. She held her arm close, feeling it tingle. It was red, with an imprint of the vampires fingers around her arm. Yep, she was definitely going to bruise later, all right. She decided she didn't like the vampire then, no matter how... handsome and delicious he may have looked. He was a first-class ass, she decided.

"You're a big creep," she muttered under her breath. Now that her temper had been pushed, it was impossible for her to stop. He had shaken her deeply, with both anger and fear. "Don't you ever touch me like that again, or I swear, I'll call the police!"

What he did next worried her even more. He stood from his chair unexpectedly, and the vampire was a lot taller than she had been anticipating. He towered over her and she barely just reached his shoulders. There was a menacing, cold look there in his eyes as he started moving towards her. Something unpleasant was going to happen, and Sookie felt herself trembling all over. Clearly this vampire was not a very nice one. Maybe she should have kept her trap shut while she had the chance?

Sookie lifted her chin and tried to hold her ground when the vampire stepped directly in front of her. He reared back on the heels of his shoes slightly, his rather sensual lips curled in something resembling amusement as he looked her over, from head-to-toe, as if she was nothing more than a brainless mannequin to be looked at. His eyes glistened over with appreciation and he made a deep, low humming noise to let her know just how much he liked the look of her, indeed. _What a sexist, creepy pig!_

Truly offended, she lifted her hand, pulled her arm back, and slapped him across his cheek, hard and without thought.

At the same time when her palm connected with his hard, cold cheek, the four light bulbs above everyone on the ceiling of Merlotte's made an odd sizzling noise and then shorted out over everyone in the bar, showering little sparks around. And then glass went flying from the windows, splintering into the air. All the customers screamed. Very nearly everyone was scrambling out of their seats and covering their heads. _Terrorist attacks, _Sookie heard some people think. _The bar's been targeted. Help me God. _

Sookie had hardly any proper time to process it when she felt the tall blonde vampires strong arms coming around her, shielding her from the wind and the pieces of glass.

_**Sorry, was this a disappointment? Feel free to let me know. This is season 1/2 Eric, and he's pretty cynical about humans LOL, so he won't be too proud about these strange feelings developing. He'll be a bit of a butthead for a while. Hope to see you next update! :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey there. Again, I own nothing to do with TB. Never will. :)**_

_**Thank you all so much for the reviews and alerts I have received. It shocks me every time. I do hope you enjoy this chapter. :) As usual, please let me know your thoughts. Sorry if this was lousy or bad compared to the other two chapters!**_

* * *

_**Chapter Three**_

Everything was chaotic in Merlotte's Bar &amp; Grill, and all it took was all the glass smashing from the windows to cause it to get into such a frantic state. In her fright over what had unexpectedly happened, Sookie's mental shield came falling down completely, bombarding her with thoughts from every single customer in the room.

_Jesus Christ, thank God I finished my beer in time before that happened otherwise I'd have pieces of glass in my drink.. What the fuck was that?... Oh, my God, I'm alive... Shit, I got glass in my hair... Oh, my cheeks bleeding...How did that happen... glass just caved in from the windows... freak storm outside... Never heard about this going to happen by tonight's weather forecast..._

Without thinking, she scrunched up her face and lifted her hands, covering her ears.

Then she realized belatedly that half of her face was mashed into someone's leather jacket. There was a strong smell emulating from the person; A faint musty, salty smell. One arm was around the lower part of her back, holding her tight against their body protectively, while their other arm was up her neck, holding the back of her scalp with their hand and pressing her face into their chest. She could feel hard sinewy bones and muscles; their physical power and strength just simply by the way they were holding her, and, to be completely damn honest, it felt comforting, being held in a stressful time as this. It was only when she suddenly recalled it being that blonde vampire that she quickly brought her hands down away from her ears and tried to fix her face, hoping to look as normal as possible so it wouldn't give her disability away to him.

It was anyone's guess why the vampire felt it necessary to protect her and shield her from the glass that had suddenly burst from the window's, but Sookie couldn't pretend she was not grateful that he had. Who knows what could have happened if he hadn't? She would have probably gotten cut or sliced across her face.

Sucking in a deep steadying breath, she lifted her head to glance up at the vampire nervously. Although his white face was quite impassive, she could almost feel the anxiety palpable from him. She mightn't have been able to read his thoughts, but it occurred to her that she didn't need to; Somehow, she could read his emotions rather easily, Sookie believed, and she felt just as anxious as he no doubt was feeling. He was tense- his body straight as an arrow- and when she met his eyes, they stared at each other wordlessly for a long moment.

Then he bent his head towards her and Sookie thought she heard him sniffle her in, putting his nose in the air. Was he sniffing her? She watched as his blue eyes studied her face and then they stopped at a spot on her neck, remaining there. Sookie saw the pale muscles in his throat bunch and knot together as he swallowed and as her own eyes fixated on his mouth, when his lips parted slightly she saw the two sharp fangs there and decided it was probably best that she move far, far away before he decided to bite her.

Clearly the excitement and danger of what had only just happened had worked the vampire up with a big thirst.

"Well, thanks for blocking me from all the glass," she forced herself to tell him. To her embarrassment, her voice was both squeaky and breathless. "I'm not even sure why the hell you bothered, but I'm grateful all the same..."

He said something in response to her, but she could only see his lips moving and the way his sharp fangs were glistening. The bar was too loud, and it drowned his words out.

It was becoming difficult for her to maintain conversation when the thoughts around the room grew so much louder and intense along with the chaos of what had only just happened and, before Sookie knew or realized what she was doing, she had reached up with both hands and was holding the vampires face tightly in them, eyeing him intently. The vampire flinched at the contact and Sookie knew she had caught him off-guard.

And thank goodness, with that extra touch, his silence wrapped around her like a security blanket and she smiled softly in relief.

"Oh, thank goodness for you," she whispered before she realized how foolish she was being. Curling her hand up, she brushed the back of her knuckles against his cheek, luxuriating in his mental silence. "Thank goodness for your quiet. I need it so badly right now."

Then slowly, she became aware again of just what was happening. She didn't know this vampire, he didn't know her, and she was probably coming across as such a weirdo to him. She took in his expression anxiously a moment later and his eyes were wide in confusion, though he didn't seem too concerned about her cupping his face intimately the way she was. But there was such a certain thing as personal boundaries so deliberately she made her hands move from his face, stepping away. The vampire's arms were still around her, and it appeared he hadn't intended to let her go anytime soon. But much to her relief, he brought his arms back down at his sides and he let her escape, while Sookie went around the room, trying to be as helpful as she possibly could.

She grabbed a broom from the storeroom and put herself immediately into good use, in attempting to sweep all the pieces of glass into a dustpan. All the while, she couldn't let go of the strange sensation of warmth she had felt while being held close to the vampire.

She knew it was beyond silly for her to feel that way; Just a couple of minutes ago before the freak incident with the windows smashing, he had been a jerk to her. So why had it felt so good and almost like home to be held close in his arms?

Sookie was starting to feel creeped out by everything; By how the instance she had slapped the vampire, the windows had caved in. By the warmth and tingling that had affected her, simply because she was being held close in the vampires arms. It was everything and the only way to keep her mind off it, she found, was by keeping busy in brushing shards of glass into a dustpan. That way her mind was off everything and it was also easier to focus and not let people's hysterical thoughts slip through.

She turned her back on the vampire and the further she got from him in the room, the greater this feeling of loss started building inside of her. A heavy feeling of despair, as if something had disappeared. When she turned back to look in his direction again, she discovered the blonde vampire was gone. He had left. The only vampire left in the room now was the dark-haired vampire, and he was just standing there aimlessly, watching everyone react in a panic.

She jumped when she heard her bosses voice suddenly. "Folks, just remain calm," he said, trying to regain a sense of control around the room. "The wind must have just picked up from outside. I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about." But even as Sam said it, she could hear him worrying in his mind about how much this was going to effect business, come tomorrow. He was going to have to shut down the bar for a couple of days so that he could get the glass in the windows repaired and it pissed him off; the idea of missing profit from the loyal customers. "The dinner you ordered tonight and also the drinks, they are on the house tonight, to make up for all this. If you-all are up for it, I would appreciate it if you could leave so that we can get this mess cleaned up. Hope you folks can all understand that?"

A few customers murmured in agreement and understanding. At a slow rate, they started leaving one by one; Some lingering behind to gush to Sam about how frightening it had all been on them. One woman in her forties that she didn't know suddenly grabbed Sookie and hugged her tightly before running out of the bar, her face ashen and pale-stricken. Scary times seemed to bring everyone in the community together.

"Thanks for that, Sookie," Sam said appreciatively once he saw she was cleaning away. She could tell Sam was in one of his stressed-out moods; He ran his hands through his hair, ruffling it up as he surveyed the room and all the mess.

She had gotten down on her knees, carefully brushing up a few bits of crushed glass that someone must have crunched over with their shoes. "Hey, no worries. I feel like it's the least I can do right now. It was so weird what happened, huh?"

"Tell me about it, Cher," he grumbled under his breath irately. Then he approached the area where some of the chefs were still cooking out back. "Hey, fellas. I don't know if any of you-all have heard from all the way in there, but there's been an incident. The glass smashed from all of the windows so I'm gonna have to ask you guys to stop cooking and start cleaning up back there, all right? I told the rest of the customers to clear out early. They're all gone now. There'll be no more orders coming through tonight. Thanks though, guys."

"Whatever you say, boss," Sookie heard Lafayette reply from in the kitchen when she moved to one of the bins, emptying the glass from the dustpan in it. "You got it."

"And Dawn," Sam continued, directing all his attention to the busty brunette that was hanging out behind the bar, "Could you start wiping down the tables for me?"

"Sure. No problem, Sam."

"I'm just gonna go make some phone calls, see if I can arrange to get the windows repaired tomorrow early morning," Sam told everyone before he stalked into his office, his cheeks flushed. Sookie watched him go pitifully; He definitely was not taking this too well, and really, she supposed she couldn't blame him.

"Creepy shit to happen just then, huh?" Dawn said conversationally to Sookie when she got a rag, spraying and wiping down the tables. Dawn Greene and Sookie hadn't gotten along very well, but right now, Sookie found she was very thankful for her company. "Did you see that? Must have been a hurricane or something to do that to the windows, huh?"

"Yeah, it was pretty... weird." Even then, as Sookie crouched down on her knees, with the dustpan and broom, the wind coming in from the now glassless windows made her shiver. She felt goose bumps lift on her arms and legs. "You've got to wonder if it happened anywhere else or just here. I wonder if it happened in other houses in Bon Temps, and not just at Merlotte's..."

Just then, Tara came through the doors, jiggling her car keys in her hands. Sookie stood up and rushed over to her, hugging her tightly.

"Hey, girl. What the fuck's going on here?" Tara asked in shock as they separated, looking around the bar at all the mess. "Where the hell is everybody?"

"Everybody had to go clear out. There was some kind of... freak storm. It blew all the glass from the windows and everything. It was scary, Tara."

"Gee, I'm betting. You think I can still get me that drink, though?"

"Hmm, I don't think so, Tara. Better not. I don't think Sam would allow it, not now. He's already stressed out enough as it is that he might have to close up the bar tomorrow so that the glass can be repaired. Sorry."

"Oh, come on, Sook." Tara sighed heavily. "Can't I just get one fucking beer in this joint? Just one? I'm needing it right now. My life has gone to shit."

Ordinarily Sookie would have taken pity on her. Only she was hardly in the mood tonight. There was too much mess to clean up, she felt bone-tired, and she could hardly muster up the energy to stand any longer. "Don't be talking so melodramatic, Tara. Besides, you quit that job. You kind of brought it all on yourself right now."

"Hey, fuck you," Tara spat back at her in offense. "Who asked for your opinion anyway?" But Tara let her know she wasn't seriously mad at her by winking. "But I'm telling you; My life sucks right now. It just keeps going on from bad to worse by the day."

"Well, you want to know what might make you feel better?"

"What?" Tara asked suspiciously, waiting for the catch.

"Well, you can get off your butt and offer to help me clean up, for starters," Sookie joked. "Can you help me get this place all cleaned up of glass, please, seeing as you're here and all? Otherwise we are all gonna be heading into overtime. And next time, I'll see if I can pull some strings into getting you a couple of freebies the next time you pop in? How's that sound? Free drinks for a couple of days? I'll even buy them, get the costs deducted out of my pay?"

"Fine," Tara surrendered grudgingly after a moment. "Just point me out where the fuck everything is meant to go, and I'll help, Sook."

While Tara helped out, suddenly the task of cleaning didn't seem so endless after all. Once eleven thirty came at night, Sam finally resurfaced out from his office, giving the staff permission to finish up. With some annoyance, he informed everyone that they would unfortunately have to be taking two night's off, because he couldn't get the glass on the window's repaired until tomorrow afternoon, and it was a big task, what with all the nine windows in Merlotte's.

Sam lived practically outside the bar, in his trailer, so he wasn't too concerned whether someone could break in since the windows were gone; He would have heard any disturbances anyway, if they had occurred.

Saying goodnight to everyone, Sookie and Tara walked outside the parking lot to their cars, the chill in the air waking them up and shocking them out of the exhaustion they were currently feeling from cleaning up the glass on the floors and under the seats hectically. Sookie found herself dragging her feet, yawning all the way to her car.

"Don't you go forgetting you owe me those drinks, Sook," Tara reminded her loudly as they both stood at their cars. The spacious parking lot was lit up and virtually empty, aside from the various cars of staff members that were still mucking around inside, talking to Sam.

"Yeah, yeah. I won't Tara, I promise."

"Hey, how's your birthmark doing?" Tara asked, almost as an afterthought. Tara and Sookie had been friends since Sookie could remember. Even in high school, Sookie's birthmark had bothered her, and Tara had heard all about it, probably constantly over the years. So asking about it was probably second nature to her.

Sookie paused for a moment from unlocking the door to get in her car, thinking that through deeply. Using her free hand, she brought it to the back of her neck, just under her tight ponytail where her mark sat- an old habit she would do since forever. "Funnily enough, it doesn't seem to be bothering me right now," Sookie admitted in astonishment. "It had earlier, though. But now it's... perfectly fine."

"Well, that's good to hear."

"It's funny. It's been pissing me off for years and now, all of a sudden, it's stopped. What gives?"

"Who knows? Just consider yourself lucky, I guess." Sookie saw Tara stifle a yawn with the back of her hand and she smiled thankfully at her friend.

"Well, guess this means we better say goodnight. Thanks so much for your help, Tara. I really appreciate it."

"Whatever. You just get me those drinks you promised me or else I'm gonna have to fuck you up. You know that, right?"

They both burst out laughing, swaying on the spot sleepily. Then forcing the car door open, Sookie swung herself in and tried to focus on getting home in one piece without falling asleep behind the wheel. She felt especially tired and drained tonight, more than usual. Then again, she figured she had every right to be. It had been a very eventful night. At least she could sleep in tomorrow morning, seeing as Sam had told that the bar would be closed to make way for reparations of the windows.

Sookie managed to get home safe and sound, with both herself and the car remaining perfectly intact, despite the heavy and stiff limbs, the grainy eyelids that were having difficulty remaining open and cautious on the road. It was roughly about a four mile drive south from the bar to where she lived, still at home, in her grandmother Adele's white weatherboard house.

The lights on the porch were still on as she parked and forced herself out of the car, with some effort. She slipped her handbag over her shoulder and locked up the car, peering out into the long yard of grass. She could hear crickets and frogs in the distance making noises, and when she glanced up at the moon, it was full tonight.

She opened the screen-door on the porch, slipped inside, and got a shock when their two-year-old black cat Tina suddenly meowed and made her presence known. Though dead tired, Sookie still brightened at the sight of her and she got down on her knees carefully, smiling when Tina rubbed up against her knees with her fur, marking her ownership of Sookie again. Well, at least that was what Sookie had read somewhere; A cat brushes up against you, it's marking you as territory, its possession. Somehow, she didn't mind being part of Tina's possession.

"Gran fed you already, huh?" she asked softly, scratching Tina between the space of her ears.

Tina looked up at her with her yellow eyes, meowed once more, and Sookie took that as a yes, standing up slowly again. She unlocked the front door and instance she pulled it open, Tina was scattering in quickly through the crack. Sookie placed her handbag up on the rack behind the door before locking the house up securely again and found her grandmother sitting at the table, reading. Gran had always liked staying up, waiting for Sookie to get in, no matter how late it was. Sookie realized she felt better that way, knowing her granddaughter had gotten in safely before calling it a night herself.

"Hey," Sookie greeted.

"Hello, honey." Gran put the bookmark in so she wouldn't lose her page, focusing her attention on Sookie. Already, she was wearing her comfy long nightgown, her greying long hair brushed out. "You're in late tonight?"

"Yeah, something happened tonight. Did you experience any crazy wind here?"

"Not that I'm sure of. Why's that?"

"Well, really weird thing happened tonight. All the glass windows in Merlotte's smashed and broke, from heavy winds or something. Well, I'm assuming it was heavy winds, Gran. We really never got anything like that here earlier on?"

"No, dear. Nothing like that. It's been pretty calm consistently all night so far."

Hmm. Too weird then. Sookie pushed it away from her mind with a brisk shake of her head. "Anyway, also... two vampires came in tonight."

"Oh. Did they bite anyone?"

"No, it was nothing like that," Sookie assured her. "They never bit anyone at all. If anything, it was like a... completely normal night. Well, aside from the windows smashing and all, of course." Sookie laughed nervously.

"I'm betting Sam wasn't too pleased about that."

"Yeah, and he really wasn't, Gran. Can hardly blame him, though."

"I suppose it won't be cheap, getting all those windows fixed up."

"Yeah, probably not. Oh, and we all have to take a day off tomorrow. The bar's temporarily closed until Sam can get them repaired, so I'll be around here."

"And how was your birthmark?" Gran asked next with concern. "Have you been having anymore trouble with it?"

"Surprisingly, no. I mean, yeah, it was for a while there. But now it's suddenly seemed to clear up. No idea why, though."

"Have you had any luck yet?" Gran asked her, more eagerly. "Have you met your soul mate, Mr. E.N yet?"

Sookie almost laughed out loud. She felt her cheeks go red as a lobster in embarrassment as her grandmother smiled at her.

Gran was a true romantic at heart. When Sookie was about eleven years old, a couple of years after her parents had died; Gran had tucked her into bed and Sookie had demanded she tell her a story.

Gran had told her this story involving her birthmark, that the initials were of a supposed soul mate she would be meeting in the not-too-distance future. She had told Sookie a vivid story of her knight-in-shining-armor, a mysterious E.N with long blonde hair that rippled in the breeze, riding on horseback; a Prince coming to rescue her from a big, bad dragon. Sookie had become so invested in the story back then that she had almost started believing it was real, and that her life was bound to turn out like something of a fairytale. Sookie had loved the idea at the time, as kids do.

But now she was older and reality had settled in; There was no such thing as soul mates, Sookie believed now. There was no such thing as happily-ever-after's and her birthmark was just exactly that; a birthmark, that, coincidentally, had the shape of an E and an N. Nothing else to it.

"Gran, don't!" She realized she was having a hard time keeping the grin off her face, and she wasn't even sure why. "You know I don't put any stock into that story you told me as a little girl anymore! There's no such thing as soul mates!"

"Oh, I think there might be, dear. After all, didn't people used to say there was no such thing as vampires? That they were just mythological? And yet, here we are...vampires being known to exist. Who is to say that there can't be soul mates, too?"

Sookie couldn't deny her Gran was onto something. "But that's completely different, Gran," she pointed out, her cheeks hurting.

Sookie knew her Gran was just trying to make her feel better. The idea of soul mates, two people predestined to be together, was an undeniably appealing one. But not at all reality, surely.

"Has the cat been fed yet, Gran?" Sookie asked, deliberately changing topic.

"She has. She's just belly aching. Don't let her fool you into feeding her again. I fed her her cat food earlier on tonight, dear."

"Okeydokey, then. Well, I'll let you get to bed, Gran. I'm beat." Moving towards her, Sookie bent down to kiss Gran on her cheek. "Are you wanting to sleep with Tina in your room tonight or should I let her outside?"

"Oh, that's okay, dear. She can sleep with me tonight. I won't mind it."

"Okay, Gran. Night. Love you."

"Love you too. Night."

Sookie was still grinning all the way upstairs to her bedroom. She closed the door gently, moving over to switch on her lamp near her bed. She was still stuck on the conversation with Gran downstairs as she got changed out of her uniform into a long, baggy shirt. If soul mates truly did exist, then why was it taking so long for her to meet hers? What was keeping him?

Sookie had often heard people call their spouses their soul mate through their thoughts. Two people who were committed in a long term relationship together. Soul mates. Hell, even Gran had called her husband- Sookie's grandfather- her soul mate at one stage.

But if soul mates truly were real and if apparently everybody has one, then where was hers? No one had asked Sookie out on a date in years, aside from a couple of times in high school. But they had been disastrous and brief, nothing special or serious.

Plus, the way things were going in Bon Temps, with her certain reputation for being nutty, no one seemed interested. Maybe she was just destined to spend her entire life alone? Single for the rest of her life. Dying a virgin. Dying and not even experiencing her first actual passionate kiss, no less. The thought was horrifying on her, and she shuddered as she pulled the covers back on her bed. And what of her birthmark? Why the pink skin that looked like initials? Or were they just not initials at all, but just a mere birthmark?

_Which reminded her..._

She went to the mirror opposite her bed, peeling her long shirt off and standing clad in just her bra and panties. She turned, facing the mirror sideways at an angle to get a better look at her birthmark, holding her hair in her hand higher so she could properly see it. She sighed with some relief; It hadn't changed, it was still how it usually looked. Still as it had been for a very long time. It would sting, throb, pulse normally, at times stronger than other days. Now, it seemed just fine.

Feeling depressed and all woe-is-me, she yanked her shirt back on over her head and her body, darted over to her bed, and climbed in, turning on her side. She spent a couple of minutes with the lamp on, thinking the day over, as she usually did.

Out of nowhere, that blonde vampire suddenly came into her mind. She felt a strange gush of warmth in the center of her belly, as her memory of his face flickered into her mind. Good heavens, had he been a piece of work. A total asshole, but a slightly tolerable asshole, since he had protected her from the glass and stood in front of her so she wouldn't have gotten cut. She had to be thankful for that, but still, he was a real mean piece of work. _Sexy mean. Handsome mean._

Reaching over, she switched off the lamp, settling back down on her side. She was grinning so hard again that her cheeks were beginning to hurt. This was probably her favorite part of the day; Coming home after a busy day and night's work to bed, all snug and warm. No intrusions and no one's brain going off, no one she was forced to have to listen to. Her legs were aching dully from being on her feet all day and so were her arms. It started hurting the back of her head while having her hair in a ponytail, so she sat up in the peaceful, total darkness of her room, pulling the hairband out of her hair and letting her long blonde hair go free.

Laying back down, she felt herself falling deeper and deeper into slumber land. Then she jerked awake abruptly, several minutes later, not being completely sure why she did. Then she heard it.

_Sookie._

She sat up hurriedly against the pillows, looking around the shadowed room.

Someone was calling her name. A man. A man was calling to her. The voice was somehow familiar; Deep and husky and attractive. Sookie wasn't sure whether she was just dreaming this entire thing, but it sounded real to her. She listened carefully, holding her breath.

_Sookie._

There it was again. And surely, it had to be real. It just had to be. After all, no dream could be this vivid, could it?

Pulling the covers off herself, she climbed out of bed, hissing as her bare feet made contact with the cold floorboards. She shivered violently, wrapping her arms around her stomach as she approached her curtained window anxiously. Her window was open- and she couldn't remember leaving it open. The curtains were rustling back and forth, to and fro wildly. She felt out her fluffy red slippers with her toes on the floor near her bed and shoved her feet into them, relieved at the immediate warmth they presented her. Deciding to get it the hell over with, she pushed her curtains apart, peering out into the yard curiously.

_Sookie._

At first she couldn't see anything. It was way too dark and the grass in the yard was too long and thick out there.

Squinting, suddenly she made out a tall silhouette of a person standing awhile away in the yard. She was assuming it was a man, and he was the very one calling her name now. He needed her. He wanted her. But who the heck was he exactly?

Beyond reason, Sookie considered shuffling into her thick night gown and heading out to him, whoever he was. But it was windy and bound to be terribly cold outside, and she decided she couldn't be bothered. Instead, she leaned against the window, staring at the man's shape.

"Who are you?" she asked, just only slightly above a whisper, because she didn't want to wake up Gran. "What are you doing in our yard? And what time do you call this?"

As if possessed, her hands moved out of their own accord, grabbing the bottom of her long shirt and lifting it up, off her body. She tossed it on the floor carelessly, her hands having a mind of their own. They ran down her stomach, her navel, the sides of her legs. She was caressing herself, caressing and fondling her own skin.

"This what you want?" she asked breathlessly. "Is this why you're here?"

The shape was gone, it had vanished so suddenly.

And then there he was, in her bedroom of all places, standing by her door.

Sookie heard a gasp of surprise leave her lips. She wasn't expecting him, of all people. The blonde vampire from earlier tonight. How he got into her room and so quickly, she had no idea. Yet here they were; Sookie, clad in just her lingerie, and him, drinking her in boldly; A particularly dark and lustful look glistening in his blue eyes at the sight of her, exposed before him.

He made an exaggerated movement of his top lip and his fangs shot down at her. Instead of feeling daunted, which she probably ought to have felt, Sookie felt a spasm of desire course through her body. An unfamiliar heat rose in the space between her legs- something she had never felt before, not for the life of her. Wetness. Hot wetness. Apparently he could smell it, too. Her bodies reaction clearly did not go past the vampire when he closed his eyes for a brief moment, inhaling in through his mouth.

Reopening his eyes slowly, the vampire drank in her body again. She could see the desire bright there in his eyes for her. It was as if she was highly attuned to his feelings- he was feeling everything she was, she could just tell.

"Well, I got to say, I was not expecting this to happen," she got out anxiously, feeling her heart do a little leap in her chest when he started moving closer to where she was standing, removing the distance between them, his eyes taking her all in yet again.

His large hands were resting at his sides, fingers spread like he was... waiting for the perfect moment to reach out and touch. To grab. To caress. To stroke.

Surprisingly, Sookie felt herself aching with anticipation for the moment he would. This was highly inappropriate, feeling this way, so needy, over a stranger she had only just met tonight; Someone she no less didn't even know what name he went by. But it was just the way she felt, and she couldn't figure out how to not feel that way.

"At least not so quickly, anyway, with you being in my room like this," she babbled, lowering her eyes to the zipper on his leather jacket. Looking him directly in the eyes had quickly become unbearable on her, and she swallowed thickly. Sookie was always talkative when she was nervous, and in a moment like this, she found she hated that quirk about herself. "I... I don't even know you. Who are you? I mean, what... what's your name?"

She could feel herself starting to shake when he reached out with his hand, his cold knuckles grazing against the inner part of her thigh and when she brought her eyes back up to meet his at his forward and brash touching, she saw that he was smiling a closed-lipped wicked smile down at her.

"Who are you?" she demanded again, working to make her voice strong, when it became clear he wasn't going to give her an answer just yet.

"Oh, but does it really matter?" Sookie felt her blood singing at the sound of his voice, at the mischievousness in it, the throatiness.

"Well, it sure does to me."

Within the blink of an eye and faster than her mind had ability to process, the vampire was suddenly standing behind her, both his hands resting on her bare shoulders. The entire length of his body brushed against her skin, the slipperiness of his leather jacket, the rough fabric of his jeans. She had to press her lips together to stop herself from making a noise when he started using his hands, gliding his fingertips down the curve of her bare shoulders, down to her forearms, then back up again, making her shiver against him.

"You like this. You don't need to know who I am." He replaced his fingers with his mouth, stunning her, brushing his parted lips over the path he had previously traced with his fingers, starting with one shoulder, then the other, eliciting a more violent shiver from Sookie, from her spine all the way downwards, in pure delight. "It's all that matters," he went on deeply, muttering into her skin, "Not who I am." Moving her hair away to the other side of her neck with careful fingers. "Not how I got inside your room." A kiss on the side of her temple, the side of her face, the lining of her jaw. "What only matters... is that you like this."

It was getting too hard. Too hard for her to contain it. A whimper escaped through her lips and in her underwear, between her legs, she was fire-hot, tingling with need.

Reaching up with her arm desperately, Sookie found whatever part of him she was able to cling onto. Her hand found the back of his neck and he used it to his advantage in dipping his head low, opening his mouth and using his tongue, swirling it around her shoulder, nipping with his teeth, his fangs. She felt like she was very nearly about to die then if he didn't give her the proper release soon.

"Feel like I'm... I'm going crazy," she moaned weakly.

His hands were rubbing her bare torso, his arms around her, and then he brought one hand up, his fingers pushing under the cup of her bra, finding her bare breast and her nipple and squeezing gently. She lost it then. Her back arched into him, she was squirming and shuddering, and as his other hand went down to the elastic band around her panties, she had to take her bottom lip between her teeth as a squeak of nerves came from her.

"May I?" He asked her hoarsely and then instead of bothering to wait for her answer, she felt his cold fingers slip under the fabric and she knew he felt the hot moisture there for himself, making her folds slick, swollen. She knew he had, when he purred low; a raspy appreciative sound, in her ear.

Before she had the time to truly act embarrassed, or timid, her eyes fluttered open. She was in bed, breathing heavily like she'd been running. Her bedroom was as she had left it before- dark, filled with shadows- only she was alone.

There was no blonde vampire in her room, touching her and getting her hot and bothered. Her heart sank in disappointment at that harsh reality. She was still wet between her legs, unsatisfied, and alone. But why had she dreamed of that blonde vampire, of all men? Why him? And why had the dream felt so real, so right?

**Hope this one was okay and that it wasn't too much of a disappointment? Please do let me know. Thanks for reading, it means a lot :) I'll try update every week at the most, with both Sookie and Eric's perspectives in chapters. Sorry if it's too out of character, though, I'll try to keep it as close to them as possible. Thanks again!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey there. Again, I own nothing to do with TB. Never will. :)**_

_**Thank you all so much for the reviews and alerts I have received. It shocks me every time. I do hope you enjoy this chapter. :) As usual, please let me know your thoughts. **_

_**I rewatched Season 7 on the week, and it was like a mindscrew lol. They had so much potential for a satisfying Eric and Sookie, and Pam and Tara ending that it just sucked :( So this is me trying to write a more solid Eric/Sookie ending.**_

_**Just to be warned, this is silly. Lol.**_

* * *

_**Chapter Four**_

Eric found himself flying directly above the waitress human's car, following her to her residence. Why he was bothering to do that, was anyone's guess. But he felt a strange compulsion to, a strange need to make for certain that she arrived home safe without Compton trying anything on her. Once he saw her park her car and get out, he hovered until he saw her get inside before touching down smoothly on the grass in her yard.

He could hear the blonde human talking to an elderly human, about her day, about the crazy incident with the windows smashing, which was something he did not fully understand himself. As if his feet had minds of their own, he approached the window from where the area their voices were coming from inside the house, and peered in through the lace curtains. He felt that strange humming noise in his ears again as he watched the elderly human and the waitress human. Then he heard something that concerned him.

_"Have you had any luck yet?" _The elderly human asked, her voice high with excitement._ "Have you met your soul mate, Mr. E.N yet?"_

_"Gran, don't! You know I don't put any stock into that story you told me as a little girl anymore!"_

He gritted his teeth and his eyes widened. _Meet her soul mate, Mr. E.N? E.N?_ Those were his initials. Eric Northman. E.N. What was the meaning of this?

He watched the humans for a bit longer, while trying to make sense of that comment. Then it slowly dawned onto him that he was being what humans termed a 'stalker'. He was stalking the human by basically loitering outside her place of residence, and watching through the curtains. A fucking Peeping Tom in vampire form.

Eric didn't understand what was going on with himself lately. Well, tonight, at least. He certainly was not acting like his usual self; He usually did not do this, in tracking a human down by following them to their residential address. He usually did not hang around outside their house, peeking through their windows listening to their usually mundane conversations. Above all that, he did not actively go out of his way to protect a human from harm, with being more concerned about himself or his progeny than others. Yet, he had done so, tonight, at that pissy little bar, in shielding the waitress from the shatters of glass that had gone flying around from the windows. He may have even enjoyed having her in his arms and feeling how fragile and warm she was in comparison to him.

What was wrong with him?

Deeply unsettled by his behavior, he forced himself backwards away from the window unsteadily and turned, taking to the sky. Flying usually helped him gain a sense of clarity and cleared his head. It was hard to think when you were six or so feet in the air, seeing the glorious sights of Louisiana unfolding beneath you. When he got to Fangtasia, he saw the massive line of humans waiting to get inside and he flew above the roof to the opposite side of the building where the staff entrance was. He was in no mood to deal with humans right now. As he landed on the cracked pavement, he smoothed his hair down with his hand and unzipped his leather jacket before opening the staff entrance and heading in.

On his way to his office, he could hear Pam entertaining the vermin.

_"Do vampires still have to take shits?"_ One male human was asking. _"Do you-all still have to brush your teeth?"_

Gah, silly humans and their ridiculous questions. Every year, those questions seemed to get worse.

"Idiots," Eric grumbled under his breath, shaking his head in dismay.

He managed to get into his office successfully without being ambushed by any humans and when he closed the door, he went straight over to his desk filled with paperwork and removed his leather jacket, shaking it out before draping it along the back of his chair. A few shards of glass that must have gotten into his jacket somehow fell on the floor. He stared down at the sharp pieces in confusion.

It was like the pieces of glass alone were accusing him. _You protected a human tonight by shielding her! You are supposed to be a badass Viking vampire that humans fear! You do not protect humans! What the fuck is wrong with you?_

Sighing loudly, he fell into his chair and hang his head back, closing his eyes, listening to the bass of the heavy metal music shake the framed pictures on the walls of his office. The instance he did close them, that waitress filled his vision, for some strange reason. As if she was still there in his retina. He saw her smiling, her dark brown eyes crinkling at him happily. In a terrible way, it made him ache and that thrumming filled his ears again. Maybe he was losing his touch?

The conversation he had overheard came back to him, and he sighed again, reopening his eyes, staring at the wall thoughtfully. Why E.N? Why his initials? He frowned. And what of his mark, even? It had been plaguing him for nearly the past twenty years solid, the itching, the throbbing. Yet now, suddenly, it was gone. Although he didn't understand the logistics behind it, he recalled touching the human and that mildly discomforting zapping sensation overtook him. Since that happened, the mark seemed to stop irritating him. Was that why? Because this... this waitress human held the key? The key to what, though?

As a thousand year old, he thought he had seen and understood everything. Clearly not.

He put his head in his hands and sighed again. This was not something he understood. Even Dr. Ludwig years ago had never heard of a vampire developing a mark at random, and she was known to be the best supernatural doctor out there. Even she had no idea what it all meant. But could that waitress human have been connected with it all? And her elderly companion even said E.N, his initials. Could it be a pure coincidence or something far more meaningful? And soul mates, like that elderly human had said? _Pfft, yeah right._

Pam's heels clacking suddenly warned him of her approach and he quickly lifted his head out from his hands and tried to appear normal as she knocked before entering. Kicking off the floor with his feet, he spun around in his chair to look at her as she closed the door up gently behind her. He had no particular desire for Pamela to see him like this, so hopeless and unlike himself. Her eyebrows arched in surprise and she stopped dead still in her tracks when it occurred to her that he had already snuck his way in and that he was sitting there, in his chair.

"Fuck, Eric." He could feel through the Maker-Progeny bond that she was uneasy by his return. She was hiding something. "I didn't know you'd be back so soon."

"You're not happy to see me, Pam? Have to say, I'm crushed."

The leopard print dress Pam was wearing was tight and clingy, reaching just below mid-thigh, and Eric allowed himself the moment to show his appreciation in his Child by running his eyes down her dress, all the way to the large black pumps she was wearing. He felt a rush of personal pride. He had chosen right, in Pam. She was never something he could ever begin to regret, nor doubt. Though she was lazy and rude, she was also a loyal and lovely sidekick. He watched her pale, slender legs as she moved around the room, pacing back and forth. Something was clearly bothering her tonight. That made two of them, then.

But then when she doubled back, he saw something on her shin on her right leg that made his eyebrows raise. Folding his hands in front of his lap, he leaned forward slightly off the chair, inspecting her shin more attentively. There was a big round mark there. A pink rash, just below her kneecap.

Instinctively he reached out, taking hold of her arm to stop her from pacing around. "Is that what I'm thinking it is, Pam?" he asked her, breathless. "When did this happen?"

"Tonight, while you were gone." She sounded calm as anything, but Eric could sense that she was panicking. "I don't know the fuck how or why, but it just... it happened suddenly. I didn't do anything different from normal, but it just... happened. Started itching out of nowhere. Why the fuck is this happening to us? Is it some kind of disease passed on by daddy to daughter?"

"Actually, mine stopped itching tonight," Eric filled her in, not without some pleasure. "I don't know how or why. But I did touch a human and there was this... this zapping sensation through my upper back when I did. Now it hasn't been pestering me ever since. Congratulations," he added, leaning back in the chair. "Guess you won't have to be my back scratcher anymore, after all..."

Pam put her hands on her hips, eyeing him thoughtfully. "You just touched a human and then that was fucking it? We've been searching for something that would help it stop for over fifteen years and yet, all it took was some clearly magical humans touch?"

"It was, Pam. That's it."

"Well, what are you waiting for? We need to find her before mine gets worse!"

"Have you peeled it yet, Pam?" When he brought his eyes down to the red round spot on her shin, he could see she hadn't. Maybe she was even too frightened to?

"I haven't yet. Didn't want to wreck my nails."

"Well, then. Allow me." It was only fair Eric do it for her, considering she had done it for him. Reaching down, he took her calve carefully in his hands, bringing her leg up, spreading his legs apart and setting her foot in the middle on the chair. Without even so much as preparing her, he just got it over with, in scraping the skin off with his short thumbnail. The skin peeled off rather quickly and through their bond, he could feel Pam's relief, as if he was experiencing it all again for himself. "Feels good, doesn't it, Pam?" he asked her knowingly.

If his heart had been functioning perfectly well, it would have been beating overtime. He found himself anxious for Pam, and worried that the mark would match his. S.S. If it did, then it would be even trickier for the pair of them to work out what the significance of it meant. A part of him, deep down inside, was praying to Odin that her mark was different, that it wasn't similar to his. And once all the dead skin was removed and he saw what was on her shin, he let loose an unnecessary breath.

"Well?" Pam prompted urgently. "Is it the same as yours?"

"No actually, it isn't." His forehead crumpled as he eyed the letters on her skin, brushing his fingers over the red outline of them. It appeared and looked exactly as his did. They weren't too out of the skin or bumpy. The letters were just... there, deep under the first layer of skin. "Well, really, it seems to be exactly how mine progressed, but the mark is different. Yours isn't S.S like mine, Pam."

"What is it, then? What does mine say?"

When he let her put her foot back down on the ground, he saw her peer down at her leg nervously, shaking it around.

"T.T," he answered calmly after watching her dance around for a moment with her leg. "It's two T's, Pam."

"Two fucking T's?" she repeated shakily. "What the fuck is going on here? First you, and now me, Eric? Surely it has to mean something, doesn't it? It just has to!"

He _was_ listening to his dear Pam. He really was. It was just when he closed his eyes for a moment, he saw that blonde waitress again.

She smiled at him, and suddenly there was a scene change. He was no longer in his office, but in his chair, his throne. She was on stage, walking around him in a circle from where he sat, running her hands along his shoulder every time she passed him, touching him, teasing him. She wasn't wearing her waitress outfit- he saw that very clearly for himself when she sashayed in front of him, her blonde hair out and dangling around her shoulders- but what she was wearing was _fucking divine_. Black lingerie, period. Then she placed both hands on his knees, bending over him slightly with her body in a way that made him see her pillowy breasts at a perfect angle, and he felt his fangs retract and throb in pleasure when she pulled his knees wide apart forcefully, slipping in between them with her legs.

There was just her and him and he felt his face go slack with arousal when she started rubbing her hands up and down his thighs, her fingernails scratching against the fabric of his jeans, presenting a light, pleasant sensation that made the blood suddenly flow to his groin. He had an erection and she smiled, seemingly pretty fucking happy about that when her eyes darted down to the considerable bulge, and Eric shifted in the chair uncomfortably.

"You want my help?" The human waitress asked, her voice coy. There was an ethereal quality to it, like it echoed around him.

"Hmmm?"

"You want my help with that, big boy?"

"What? Your-"

"Come back down to earth, Eric!"

Suddenly Pam's voice was there, a distant noise in the background.

"Wake the fuck up! Are you even listening?"

Then something hit his forehead and he opened his eyes with effort. Pam was standing there, confused, hand on her hip. She had thrown a pen lid at him and how fucking unfair, it was just a dream. A... daydream. He was back in his office, there was no blonde waitress human, and unfortunately for him, parts of the dream were actually true. For instance, the throbbing of his fangs and engorgement of his dick in his jeans. Fucking fantastic.

"Sorry, Pam. You were saying?" Uncomfortable beyond reason at having an erection due to a human with his progeny in the room, he reached behind him, took his leather jacket from the back of the chair and bunched it up, sitting it conveniently in his lap instead. "I just had the most, um, enchanting daydream."

Pam was not happily. "Forget it," she said under her breath. "I'm going back out." She threw her hands up in the air helplessly, storming out of his office.

Eric knew he ought to have felt bad about zoning out while Pam was having troubles of her own, but he just couldn't help it. He had no idea what was happening to him, or what it was in particular about the human that had him fantasizing about her like he was an infatuated little boy, but it just happened.

All he knew was that now Pamela was having troubles of her own - she now had a mark herself- and who knew what that was supposed to mean for her? He didn't have any fucking idea what his mark, the _SS_, meant for him.

_But in the meantime..._

Since the coast was clear and no one was in or around his office, now that Pam had gone back out to enthrall the vermin, he decided to take a few simple matters into his own hands. Literally.

Blowing out through his mouth, he pushed his chair back from the desk and stood, tossing his jacket on the floor. Then he unzipped his jeans, took it in his hand, and he was hard as anything, all thanks to that random fucking daydream about that blonde waitress in that shitty, pathetic bar. Closing his eyes again while starting to stroke up and down, up and down, he saw her again, filling the darkness under his eyelids.

"You want my help with that, big boy?" she asked again, in her Southern twang of a voice.

"Yes, I certainly do," he muttered to himself quietly in a sing-song voice, as if she was truly there.

He was almost there. He could feel himself about to cum, he didn't think he could last any longer, not with how quick and urgently he was stroking himself. When he finally did, he had to grab the edge of his desk for support, his dick slick with cum-blood, a blinding-hot white light flashing across his vision. He felt as if he was soaring, floating, with her. It was probably the most intense orgasm he had felt in years- his ears were ringing, his forehead tingling pleasantly- and that was definitely saying something, considering how many humans he had leisurely fucked with over the millennium.

"Fuck, yes, that's it, Sookie," he grunted thoughtlessly, licking his lips, and when he reopened his eyes, panting, he blinked at the wall across from him in blank confusion. _Sookie? Where did that come from?_ "Sookie?" he repeated, stunned. "Who is Sookie again?"

**Hope you enjoyed this one or was it terrible/silly? Please review and let me know. See you next update hopefully! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

_**First, I own nothing to do with TB. Never have, never will. This is just for fun.**_

_**Thank you guys so much! It means a lot to me! I do hope you enjoy this one lol. As usual, I'd love to know.**_

_**Any suggestions are welcome also!**_

* * *

_**Chapter Five**_

Pam couldn't work out what was wrong with her maker lately.

As she slipped out of his office, she had to pause and reach down, scratching the mark under her right knee with her fingernails. As she saw it more clearly for herself, what was there, she sighed loudly. Eric was right; It was similar to the mark that had developed on his back all those years ago, in that it was red letters that weren't raised from the skin, but just there and itchy as fuck. While her makers mark was a SS, hers was a TT. Truth was, ever since having noticed the rash instantly develop there while Eric was out on sheriff duty, she had felt terrified. Terrified as anything.

Immediately she had seemed to know what it was; Just like her maker, she was going to have a mark there also now. Who knew why it was there or how? She gained the suspicion that it was hereditary, if possible, through the Maker-Progeny bloodline. Clearly it had to be, considering both her maker and her had marks now.

Most of all, she was terrified of what was going to begin happening to her in the next couple of days, where the itching would truly begin. She had seen how frustrating it was on Eric, having his mark itch and throb constantly, and Pam was not looking forward to that side of it, to say the least. That, and the personality changes that she no doubt would be undergoing, which her maker had suffered from all throughout the years himself.

Eric had been acting strange for years now, ever since the mark had developed that fateful night twenty years ago and tonight, with him daydreaming and ignoring her, it had pretty much sealed the deal that something was wrong there.

If it had been someone else other than her maker behaving this way, she wouldn't have given a shit. But she had been by Eric's side for nearly over a hundred years straight- they had history, and he was basically her father, having made her into what she is now, the greater undead species. And after spending so long with someone, you didn't just not care about them.

But she was in deep shit of her own now.

She had a mark now, two letters of the alphabet and, _already_, it had started itching and aggravating her, despite her maker having removed the first layer of dead skin barely ten minutes ago. Scratching around the letters with the sharp ends of her nails provided her a momentary surge of relief, until she stopped and it started tickling on her again. Choosing to ignore it- a hard battle within itself- she moved back into the crowd, ignoring the pathetic humans that looked her way curiously.

Long Shadow, the fifteen-year-old vampire Pam and Eric had employed a couple of years ago, was still managing the bar and it occurred to her he hadn't gone on his break and had his nightly snack as yet. Stepping around the bar, she told him sternly to go fuck off and get himself a snack while she took over his job until he returned after his half hour break. Seeing as her legs were hidden behind the bar, when no human was looking, she'd take a quick moment to reach down with her hand and scratch her mark indulgently, her eyelids fluttering closed peacefully whenever she did.

Then, a second later, it grew worse with the human that entered into Fangtasia.

Just then, a dark-skinned female came in, moving past the crowd towards the bar to purchase a drink. She was a newbie; a human Pam hadn't seen enter the establishment before. She was wearing light blue jeans and an orange tank top, her dark hair up in a messy ponytail. Pam could smell her all the way from where she was, behind the bar. She smelled fucking delectable, if she had to be honest.

Another vampire brought out his fangs to her, and Pam was delighted by her reaction. "What the fuck is wrong with you people, thinking I came all the way here to be your food?" The dark human shouted, her arms flapping around in all her indignance. "I ain't into that shit so get the fuck away from me, Jesus! Can't a girl come into here to get a good hard drink without any of you thinking she's inviting herself in as a meal? Fucking retards..."

_Now that's my kind of human,_ Pam thought to herself, watching the woman admiringly as she rolled her eyes and shook her head in annoyance. _Filthy-mouthed and feisty._

Nowadays, Pam was all for the vagina. Years ago, especially after she had just only been turned vampire, Pam and her maker went through a phase where they had went at it night after night like rabbits. Eric was really the only male on the planet that Pam decided she could stand, not that he wasn't without his pain-in-the-ass moments, like tonight, for instance...

The human woman settled herself up on one of the stools at the bar, placing her bag next to her. When she glanced up at Pam with her dark eyes, Pam noticed with distaste that the mark below her kneecap grew even itchier. _How strange it was._

"What can I do you for tonight?" she asked the human over the heavy metal music, putting on her sultry vampiress voice.

"Can I get me a drink in this place?" the human said, looking around at everyone in the bar. "And fucking hell no," she added under her breath sardonically, "That is not an invitation for you to feast on me with your fangs."

"Duly noted," Pam retorted, flinging the menu at her. She watched the human, feeling more fascinated than what was probably necessary, as her eyes ran down the list of cocktails. Then she huffed in laughter. "Something funny, sugar?"

"This is just so fucking typical, all the names for your drinks," the human said quietly in amusement, looking over at her. "Bloody Mary. Nail in The Coffin. Fruity Fang. Why does that not surprise me, the gruesome names for cocktails in a fucking vampire bar, of all places? Though, if I were you, I'd seriously consider firing whoever made up those names ass for being so damn cliché."

"Well, which one takes your fancy?"

"Which ones the strongest, you think?"

It took Pam a belated moment to realize her fangs had retracted. They were out, and throbbing hard, for the human. When her bright blue eyes focused on the human's pretty little neck, at the pulsing there, her mouth watered. She swallowed and forced her eyes away from the humans neck, focusing on her lips instead. "I'd say the Bloody Mary, not that I'd know. It's been a long time since I've last been able to have a cocktail or alcoholic beverage. Too fucking long, in fact. I really could do with one now."

The human smiled at her, in a somewhat sympathetic way. "You and me both, then. It's been a shit couple of days for me. But I'll have the Bloody Mary then, if that's what you're recommending?" Pam got started on her drink, squirting a lot of tabasco sauce in to make the drink extra spicy and strong. Just exactly like the dark-skinned human that was drinking it. "Weirdest fucking thing happened tonight," the human went on loudly, like they were sorority sisters. "The bar I went to in Bon Temps, it had to close up so I couldn't even get me just one lousy fucking drink. All the windows smashed in and everything, and my friend, she-"

Pam sighed through her nostrils impatiently as she threw a few random nips of alcohol into the drink. Why was it that humans felt that she was somebody they could talk to? As if she was even interested in what stupid humans did, and what trivial things they were going through... Pam had enough troubles of her own, yet she had enough sense not to talk to anybody about them.

As she turned back towards the human woman, who was prattling on and on, Pam arched her brows at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. Do I look as if I give two shits about you and how shitty your life is?" That shut the human up pretty quickly, thank fuck. "For the Bloody Mary, that'll be fifteen dollars."

"Fifteen dollars just for one fucking drink? Hell, even for a place like this, that's pricy."

The human surrendered after a moment, shoving her hand in her bag and pulling out her wallet. She handed her a twenty dollar note and Pam moved over to the register to get her some change before passing a five over to her. As their fingers touched, a painfully unpleasant zapping sensation struck Pam, starting from her pinky toes, all the way up to her thighs, and she drew her hand back in shock. The dark-skinned human looked just as alarmed as she did; The whites of her eyes overpowering her dark irises and her athletic frame shuddering. Then Pam's natural defenses took over and she leaned over towards the human from across the bar, her mouth curled back in a grimace, bearing her sharp, gleaming fangs.

"What the fuck did you just do to me, you cunt?" she muttered to the human angrily, her voice just only above the music in the room.

She could tell she had succeeded in frightening the human, because she heard her gulp audibly. Then, stunning Pam, the human's face hardened and her expression became feisty and her demeanor all tough-as-nails again.

"What the hell? I didn't do nothing to you just then! I think a more reasonable question is, just what the fuck did you do to me just then? Or was it electric shock from the static of that ugly-ass leopard print dress you're wearing?"

Pam inhaled in sharply through her mouth in shock over the human's remark. Not once in a hundred years had a human dared to be so rude to her. No less insult her by commenting on her clothing. The human had some real guts, she'd give her that.

Losing herself, Pam strolled back around the bar furiously in her heels, braced and ready to give the human woman the fright of her life. Then it came to her: Eric had said something similar to the likes of this tonight, where he had touched a human and felt a disturbing zapping sensation that had made his mark quickly stop itching. Come to think of it, Pam's mark had just as suddenly stopped itching. When she glanced down quickly at the letters beneath her kneecap, she discovered the mark was still there, as usual for her now. It only had just ceased to itch. Was this the very same human Eric had mentioned early on tonight? Was she the same human with the magical touch that had made Eric's mark stop aggravating him?

Surely she had to be. This couldn't be a coincidence, after all.

Before the human even had time to process it, Pam grabbed her roughly by the forearm, yanking her up and off the stool in one go.

"What the fuck?" the human yelled, fighting and pulling to get free. "What the hell are you touching me for? Whatever happened to freedom of speech? I can't help it that I find your dress to be the ugliest fucking thing I ever did see!" The human went on and on hysterically, while Pam started hauling her towards her makers office, almost effortlessly. "Wait, let me guess; You're gonna kill me now, are you? All because of what I said about your dress, huh?"

"Unfortunately for you, you're getting it worse than me killing you," Pam retorted tonelessly, using her free hand to knock on the door to Eric's office.

"Oh, yeah? What can possibly be a worse fate than you killing me and dumping my body somewhere?"

"You haven't yet met my badass maker. And just your luck, you're about to once he... opens the fucking door." The fear emulating off the human woman was thrilling, and just as she started fighting to get free more vigorously, the door opened and there her maker stood, looking between the pair of them impassively. "See anything you recognize?" Pam asked, gesturing towards the frantic human woman, who was now spitting and cursing at her from underneath her breath.

Pam watched Eric's face carefully as he took the moment to look the human over. Far as she could discern, there was no recognition there whatsoever. How disappointing.

"Should I recognize her, Pam?"

"Back at the bar, our fingers touched while I passed her the change for her Bloody Mary. I felt that zapping sensation you were speaking of earlier. Now my legs stopped itching. Does that mean something to you, at all? Is she the same woman that touched you before?"

"I've never seen the human before in my entire life, Pam. She wasn't the one I touched. It is definitely not her."

"What a fucking shame then," Pam grumbled, lifting her arm and catching the woman by her throat. The woman's squirms died down then when Pam asserted pressure with her hand, squeezing down slightly on the woman's windpipe. Using it to her advantage, Pam guided her into the room like she was a ragdoll. "What do you want me to do with her? Kill her?" She looked up at her maker for assistance.

Eric looked neither concerned nor interested either way. He shrugged. "Do with her as you will, Pam," he said indifferently. "But you told me you touched her and felt that zapping sensation just then? How is your mark now? It has stopped itching like mine did?"

Pam loosened her grip on the human woman's throat so that she could suck in unsteady breaths as she focused all her attention on her maker. "It has, thank fuck for that. I don't think I could have handled those twenty long years of it itching like you had. What do you think it means?"

Eric's expression turned thoughtful as he inspected the dark-skinned human carefully. The woman's feet were a small inch off the ground, the tips of her white trainers kicking around wildly, while Pam had her up by the throat. She kept making wheezing noises, but he could tell Pam wasn't holding her so rough that she was choking her.

"Who knows, Pam? Even Dr. Ludwig didn't know, did she? And if Dr. Ludwig doesn't know, the best supernatural doctor out there, then... what hope is there for us?"

"I'm just saying that this human must be connected to it all in some way," Pam explained, giving the human a little light shake. "Surely it has to mean something, right?" Then Pam had an idea, and she let her fingers loosen around the woman's warm throat even more so that she could answer her, "Wait. What's your name, cupcake?"

"What you want to know that for?" The human spluttered quietly. "What? You take down names before you kill us? That how you do this, you sick fucks?

Fed up, Eric put his face closer to hers. When she tried looking away, he took her by the chin and forced her gaze to remain solely on his. "Tell us your name, sweetheart," he commanded deeply, glamouring her.

The human got out immediately and dreamily, "The name's Tara. Tara Thornton."

"T.T," Eric whispered confidently, immediately getting it. "Just like the letters on your mark, Pam. Tara Thornton."

"So what's it supposed to mean?"

"Let's check her leg," Eric suggested, and he bent, grabbing hold of the end of her pant leg and tearing the fabric of her jeans away by the seams effortlessly.

Now that his glamouring spell had waned off, the human was coherent again. She kicked about and made a nervous grunting noise when he glided his hands up her right leg. When he saw it while holding her leg still, the pink outline of the letters P.B on her leg, it confirmed it. Finally, at last, they were gaining some insight into what the marks meant for them. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

"_Un-fucking-believable_," Eric muttered, astonished.

"What now? What is it?"

"She has your initials on her leg, Pam._ Exactly_ where yours is, under the right kneecap. P.B. Pamela de Beaufort. What is the meaning of this?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it's a curse? Some hokey-pokey voodoo shit?"

"I don't know, Pam, but I suppose it's always a possibility." He stood fluidly, dusting off his knees. The human was watching the both of them silently, her eyes wet. "Well, what do you want to do with her, Pam? You want to kill her?"

"Hell, yes. I want to kill the cunt."

Pam curled her lips back, her fangs out, as she moved closer to the humans throat. The human started kicking and fighting again, making a few noises of distress. Eric watched dispassionately while shoving his hands deeply into his jean pockets. Well, _almost _dispassionately. It was always exciting, watching your own kind kill. Only he felt a wave of uncertainty come over Pam; Something he hadn't felt through their bond before. She was struggling, which was unusual... for the pair of them. Usually they hardly cared who they slaughtered. They had even goaded each other on in killing an infant at once stage and yet, here Pam was, having an internal dilemma.

"I... I can't even kill her," Pam admitted shamelessly after a couple of minutes. "I'm feeling all conflicted. Why the fuck is that? We've killed humans of all genders and ages before, so why the fuck can't I just drain her and get it over with?"

"Do you... like her, Pam?" Eric couldn't believe he actually asked that, whether Pam held a torch towards an inferior human. Surely not.

"I... I think I actually do," she confessed, scrunching her face up in disgust. "I'm actually jonesing for a human. What's wrong with me?"

_Tell me about it. I've been fantasizing about a waitress human for the past half an hour_, Eric wanted to tell her, but he didn't. It would have crushed his ego, in having to admit that to Pam, that he was being weak, fantasizing about a human he didn't even know. So he just shrugged and pretended he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you both have your initials on each other?" The instance he brought that to light, Eric started wondering if the blonde human waitress had his initials on her. After all, didn't her elderly companion even say that earlier on tonight when he was being all Peeping Tom?

He realized he'd have to go out of his way so that their paths would cross again, his and that humans. He actually felt himself brimming over with excitement at the idea of being in close proximity to the human again. It made him ache, dare he admit it. What was she doing to him? He definitely hadn't felt this way before. Shit, he had even masturbated to the image of her; Masturbating over a human was definitely not something he did very often, if at all. Humans were moving food. Not something you masturbated over. Clearly Pam was experiencing this herself with this Tara Thornton human, though?

He observed them as Pam slowly let the human's feet touch the ground in his office.

He watched as Pam guided the human backwards while her hand was still clasped over her throat. Pam licked one of her fangs- Eric smelled lust and arousal, though he couldn't decide who from- and before Eric knew it, Pam's hand had left her throat, she was cupping the humans face in her hands, and then her mouth was on the humans passionately. Both of them were making low noises of arousal while Pam's hands moved down the dark-skinned humans shoulders, feeling her arms up.

Eric's eyebrows rose at the pair incredulously. _That fast, eh?_

They fell down on the leather couch near his desk, Pam on top, while the human slid her arms down her hips, moving round to her backside, giving her bottom in her dress a squeeze which made Pam make a content humming noise against her lips in response.

It was as if Eric wasn't there in the room, watching the two. He was stunned witless, for lack of a better word, over his progeny's strong and instantaneous reaction to the human. One instance the human had been scared and fearing for her life while Pam was attempting to psych herself up mentally to kill her, and then just as suddenly, in the next second, the two were making out like their lives depended on it. It just didn't make any logical sense to Eric._ Then again, really, did any of this make any sense?_

He watched the pair for a moment longer before forcing himself to move out of the office, giving the two some alone time. He closed the door gently behind himself, and closed his eyes for a moment, waiting for the stunned feeling to leave him. He found himself wishing _she_ was there, in Fangtasia. The human waitress. After having witnessed Pam getting some and the surge of happiness he could feel from her, he felt morose and lonely for some inexplicable reason. He felt such longing, such pining and longing for that waitress to appear randomly in Fangtasia that it scared him.

_"You want my help with that, big boy?"_

"Oh, fuck me," he whispered, opening his eyes again.

He was in trouble. Big, big trouble, for letting a human get under his skin so effectively the way she had.

* * *

Next morning, when Sookie woke, she had a good stretch before climbing out of bed and getting dressed for the day. She was pleased she had a chance to take the full day off work, and doing what she loved to do whenever she had free time off, she got changed into a bikini and grabbed her towel, heading downstairs and out into the yard so that she could sunbathe and work on her tan in her old fold-out chaise. Once she slid her sunglasses on and sat back, enjoying the pleasant warmth of the early morning sunlight against her skin, her mind went back to that bizarre dream she had last night.

How erotic it had been. Sookie usually never had dreams of that nature, but for some strange reason, she had one that seemingly came out of nowhere last night.

Just the mere thought of the dream, of that vampire she had seen in Merlotte's last night and how he spoke to her and touched her in the bedroom, slipping his fingers into her underwear and... it made her blush and she felt her lips turn up into a grin as a tingling warmth infected her stomach.

She would have been so mortified if she ever came across that vampire again, because she knew, in the back of her mind, that she'd replay that saucy dream all over again. She'd no doubt act weird around him, because of the dream. How weird, dreaming such a sexy dream about someone you didn't even know! Somehow it felt super inappropriate of her (not that she could have controlled it).

At least when she had gotten back to sleep she hadn't had another dream of him. So that's something... Still, it was embarrassing, how aroused she was over a mere dream. She hadn't felt that before, towards anyone; Aroused sexually. It was like a wet dream only... a female's wet dream. Good lord, Sookie didn't even know what to call it. _Do women even have wet dreams? Is there even such a thing for women?_

She gave her head a little shake, telling herself sternly to quit it. Yet, for some reason, she couldn't get the vampire out of her mind. It was as if her brain was stuck on him.

When she closed her eyes, trying to get comfortable, she saw his face under the darkness of her eyelids. Him licking his lips, looking her over with his blue eyes. It made her feel... funny. Warm all over.

She forced her eyes open, squinting far off into the yard. She almost felt like a young woman with a crush, which was very unusual for her. She hadn't crushed on many people throughout the years, so these feelings being stirred in her were strange. And to feel that way towards a vampire, of all men! He had seemed like an arrogant jackass, and yet she was crushing on him like it was nobody's business.

She sighed, bringing a hand up, running her fingers over her face, until she caught the purple bruise on her arm from where the vampire had grabbed at her rudely last evening in Merlotte's. His fingers had left marks from when he had squeezed her too tightly. Insanely, she felt pleased that his grabbing had left a bruise, because it reaffirmed that he was real. He was a real person, although she didn't know his name or no less how old of a vampire he was. Despite all that, the dream she had experienced last night and her reaction to it, told her that she was sexually aroused by him. The idea of getting down and dirty with somebody like him excited her. For once in her life, she actually found herself longing to have sex with a man. _How ridiculous and weird of her._

She heard a noise that distracted her from her impure and wicked thoughts and when she shifted slightly in the chaise, she realized her Grandmother was at the clothes line, hanging up washing.

"Hey, Gran. You want my help over there?" she called, getting to her feet.

She wrapped her towel around her bare midriff as she walked across the grass to help her Gran, thankful for the distraction, really. She had to stop thinking about some stranger who probably had forgotten all about her in the first place. Fortunately for her, Gran kept her mind occupied in talking to her about the garden and other various subjects, so the vampire never crossed her mind again.

A night later, she was back in Merlotte's again and the windows had been fully repaired. The glass on the windows shone since they were brand spanking new and even customers were taking notice of that. No one still seemed to have any idea of what happened to cause the windows to smash the way they had, but everybody seemed eager to just pass it off as it being part of a freak incident or sudden bout of bad, stormy weather.

Sookie was just going around from table to table, making sure all the salt and pepper shakers were in working order and full, when she felt that glorious wave of silence beat over her mind again. A vampire had entered Merlotte's and Sookie felt her heart start beating furiously in her chest.

_It was him. It had to be him, _she told herself excitedly._ Don't you be thinking dirty and fantasizing about that dream you had of him, otherwise you'll come off as a complete weirdo and fool to him. And don't you throw yourself at him neither!_

"Oh, damn it all to crap," she muttered under her breath when, as she turned eagerly into their direction with a bright smile in place, she discovered it was the other vampire instead.

The dark-haired one, the less impressive one; with the trimmed old-fashioned sideburns. As he went to slip into one of the seats in her area, she got the chance to see he was wearing old ratty and torn jeans and a tight white V-necked shirt, with a khaki-colored jacket on top. Even to someone like Sookie who wasn't entirely into fashion, she thought his dress sense was atrocious, bless him.

Keeping her smile in place with effort, she approached his table, and he looked up at her with dark eyes while leaning back in the chair. "Good evening," he greeted, smiling a tight-lipped smile.

"Uh, yeah. Good evening to you, too. What can I get you tonight? Or would that be another bottle of synthetic blood?"

"Naturally, yes." He nodded once and an awkward silence spread between them as Sookie waited for him to expand on that. He made her feel strange, as if spiders were crawling up and down her arms, oddly enough. "Er, yes. I will have a bottle of the synthetic blood, thank you. Any flavor and type will do, and if you wanna slip a drop of your blood inside also, I'll be fine with that." While Sookie knew he had said it to be probably what he assumed was charming, it didn't exactly work for her. She stared at the vampire blankly as he laughed nervously at her. "That was a joke, and a poor one, clearly. I beg my pardon."

"You're excused," she said shortly, and at that, she went to get his bottle of blood for him. When she got a bottle out from the storeroom, she became aware that the vampire's eyes were on her, and he was watching her every movement. It wasn't a very nice feeling on her, to know he was staring.

When his blood was heated and she returned to where he was, carrying the bottle and a glass, she couldn't resist herself asking, not for the life of her. "And where's your friend?"

The vampire peered up at her in confusion as she sat his glass down on the table, his bushy eyebrows wrinkling.

"You know, your... other friend that came in with you a couple of nights ago?" she explained, trying to sound as if she didn't really care, though.

Understanding flickered across the vampires white face before it smoothed back out into an emotionless stare at her. "Ah, yes. He isn't truly my friend, which is why he is not here this evening. You liked him, did you? You wish he was here now, rather than myself?"

Sookie pursed her lips together, feeling her face glow with heat. The vampire was a lot more observant than she had realized. "Goodness, no. Of course not, I didn't like him at all," she protested, though even she knew she was being a terrible liar. "He was a big... jackass." _Handsome jackass. Sexy jackass. _"I was just wondering where he was, is all." Hating the feeling of spiders and slugs slithering over her in the man's presence, she stood back, smiling sheepishly. "Anyhow, hope you enjoy that now. Have a good night."

In a way that spooked her, the vampire poured some synthetic blood into his wine glass all the while staring at a spot beneath her earlobe on her throat, lifted it up in the air at her as if he was toasting her and when he went to have a sip, she saw his fangs were out. Clenching and unclenching her hands, she nodded before forcing herself away, a shiver passing down her spine. The vampires presence was certainly not a comfortable one, to say the least. Sookie couldn't help gathering the suspicion that he was there for her, that he was planning something for her. But she couldn't tell whether she was simply being paranoid or not.

Then Mack and Denise Rattray entered the bar, and she could tell they had only one thing in mind when they realized the vampire was in the bar. They were going to drain him, and she could hear Mack mentally evaluating how much money they could make out of the vampire. When Denise helped herself to the empty space in the seat near the vampire, she started touching and rubbing her neck, hoping to entice the vampire into following them outside. They were going to lure him out.

When the vampires eyes drifted over to Sookie again, she made a hand gesture, a stop sign. "Don't do that," she mouthed at him. "Bad. Bad people. Don't."

He just looked her over with furrowed brows, like she was insane before turning back to Denise, who was putting on a show. Sookie sighed to herself and shook her head from where she stood, behind the bar. Then the vampire stood, leaving his wine glass half full, and Mack put his arm around his shoulder, showing him the way out. Sookie felt tempted to follow them out, but realized how dangerous that would be for herself. It wasn't her problem. It wasn't her fault that the vampire hadn't chosen to listen to her. Turning, she grabbed the phone and called 911, letting them know of suspicious activity happening outside Merlotte's bar where two humans were intending to drain the vampire in the parking lot.

But when the police informed her they were busy and were looking at getting there in roughly twenty minutes, Sookie realized that was too late.

Rushing, she took a chef's knife out of the drawer near the kitchen area out back. Then with the blade pointed downwards to the floor, she ran out of Merlotte's, hoping to come to the vampires aid before it was too late, fingers gripping the handle of the knife tight, the chef's knife lifted for use in front of her.

_Silly, silly vampire for not listening to what she was trying to warn him about..._

* * *

_Well, I hope this one wasn't crap LOL. Don't worry, it won't go as it usually is. She'll run into someone and get sidetracked lol. I'd love to know your thoughts as usual so please do feel free to review and let me know, thanks so much!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Hoping you enjoy this one! Thanks again! I fear this was really bad, so I'm sorry!**

* * *

_**Chapter Six**_

Sookie had only just gotten halfway through the lit gravel parking lot, pausing to look around frantically, when suddenly Sam appeared, closing up his trailer. He looked at her with some surprise, focusing on the large knife in her hand. Sookie felt herself flush with heat; Running with a large knife in her hand like some crazed murderer in a badly made horror movie was definitely not a good look for her. She was acting as crazy as her reputation stated she was right now.

"Cher, what are you doing out here? And what the hell are you doing with that knife right there?"

"Oh, Sam, thank God!" She was panting heavily from her jogging session. "There's a problem. The Rattray's just took off with a vampire customer, and I heard their thoughts and they are planning to drain him so that they can sell his blood! I tried calling the police but they are so busy that there is likely to be a twenty minute delay, and I don't think he's got that long!"

"So your first instinct is to run to the vamp to help him out holding a knife, like some psycho person?" Sam sounded disapproving of her. And confused. "Look, I know you want to help out to the best of your capabilities if someone is in need- that's just you- but he's a vampire, Sookie. I'm pretty damn certain that he can take care of himself."

"I'm not so sure he can," Sookie protested desperately. "I warned him that they were bad people and did he listen? Nope. I can't just let the Rattrays do that to him, Sam. I just can't, otherwise I'll be as bad as they are, knowing their intentions and not at least trying to help!"

"Well, you leave that to me. That's the way this is supposed to work, huh? If you feel a customer isn't safe or you notice they are in trouble, you tell me, you don't just run outside and try to act like some vigilante." Sookie blinked at him, feeling her eyes starting to water. Sam hadn't gotten mad at her very often, but she could see he was now. He sighed and put a hand up in the air, "Look, first thing you did was try the police, and that's good, Cher. But I'll go take care of this, all right?"

"Okay," she agreed, trying to keep her voice steady. "Next time if there's any problems, I'll tell you first. And call the police."

"Good girl," he said, smiling at her mildly. "Now you go get inside, keep warm, and put that damn knife away, will you?"

"Okay. Sorry, Sam."

When Sookie's back was turned to her boss, she wiped her wet eyes quickly and sniffled loudly. She heard the rustling of clothes behind her and when she glanced curiously, her boss of all people was stripping out of his shirt. How stripping down and getting nude would help a vampire from the Rattrays, Sookie had no idea, but she didn't want to risk Sam getting angrier at her so she simply let him be. But all in all, Sam was right. It wasn't her business to help customers out of trouble, no matter how responsible she felt. That vampire hadn't heeded her warning anyway, and had simply looked at her as though she was nuts. Sam was right; It was so not her problem.

Without looking where she was going, she powerwalked back towards the bar, watching as she turned the sharp blade of the knife over and over in her hands. She caught something move out of the corner of her eye, a long shadowed figure, yet when she turned towards it, there was no one there. There was just tree trunks and leaves, and bushes moving slightly in the wind. As far as she could tell, no one was there. Focusing and opening up her mind, she tried to listen.

There was no thoughts being given off, no active and alert brain signaling someone's presence in the bushes, yet Sookie couldn't help but get the suspicion that someone was watching her in the bushes. Or maybe her brain was playing tricks on her?

"Er, is someone there?" she called out nervously.

She got no reply, but she did hear a twig snap and break, possibly under the sole of someone's shoe. That was pretty much all the confirmation she needed.

Someone was definitely hiding away in the bushes, probably watching her.

Really focusing again, she closed her eyes, holding her breath, listening in. Someone was definitely there; A vampire, though she couldn't hear anything that their brain was giving off, of course. She could just feel their silence. It was almost palpable in the air. Was it that vampire who was getting drained? Had he gotten free from the Rats? Or was it another vampire entirely? Something inside her, a niggling intuition, told her it was another vampire. When she reopened her eyes again, she started approaching the opening of the large trees. It was fairly dark out, and she couldn't see all that well. She could only just make out the outline of the trees, the wind shaking them.

"I can feel you," she warned the person. "Well, I mean, I can't _feel you_, but I can... feel your presence there, standing around. What are you hiding for? You too chicken to show your face to me?"

Suddenly she heard it. A man's low chuckle, coming from behind one of the trees. "Oh, I am no chicken, I can assure you," the man spoke in a voice just above a whisper, and Sookie swore it was familiar to her.

Where had she heard it before? It was awfully familiar, somehow. She gathered that the only way she could figure it out was to try to keep him talking, which was exactly what she did.

"Oh, I don't know. You hiding away like this screams chicken to me. Are you like the Elephant Man? You're scared of showing your face to me?" While she was talking, she stepped over a few loose branches on the ground carefully, hoping to be quiet enough to catch him off-guard in reaching around the tree to him. "Who are you? And why are you stalking me like this?"

"Oh, please. You wish I was stalking you."

"That is so not true!" she disagreed, her voice shaking with humor. "I know that some women find it sexy, a man stalking them. But I'm not one of those women! In fact, I find it a downright turn off and... creepy as hell." She rested her shoulder against the rough bark of the trunk behind her. She just needed to time it perfectly in springing around to the opposite side of the thick old tree to catch him out.

Bending down slowly, she placed the large knife in the dirt so she could use both hands to catch him, and when she stood again, he was standing there, right near her against the tree, leaning down slightly so that his face was near hers. She swallowed dryly, suppressing a gasp. She couldn't see him all that well- just the mere outline of his head and body- but somehow she knew instantly that it was that other tall six-foot-something blonde haired vampire. The same vampire she had that dream about! The one she was having difficulty getting her mind off of! No wonder his voice sounded pleasantly familiar to her.

She felt him take her chin by lifting it up with his thumb. She had no idea how he moved so quickly, but he had. And then he was making her peer into his eyes, which was not easy for her to do. It was far too dark and she wasn't quite sure where to look, but she saw the shiny roundness of them.

"What is your name, sweetheart?" he asked her, his voice deep and low. Sookie got the impression that he was doing something to her, like he was willing her with his mind to answer truthfully. She felt a strange tickling sensation around her scalp.

"Sookie," she answered quietly. His thumb was stroking her chin, and it was not an entirely unpleasant experience on her. Actually, she found she enjoyed it, oddly enough. His touching. She felt content and like a cat getting petted. "Sookie Stackhouse."

He made an odd noise at that; An incredulous moaning noise that she couldn't understand. _What was his problem?_

"Why?" she demanded rudely, thinking he was making fun of her name. "What's your name then?"

"Eric Northman."

There was a long moment of silence where Sookie thought that through. Eric Northman. E.N. Her birthmark? She remembered him grabbing her a couple of days ago, their first physical contact, and how that sensation overcame her. Ever since that first touch, her birthmark had seemed to stop annoying her. Was this why? Because they were soul mates, in some mysterious way she didn't quite understand? And what about her dream of him? It had happened randomly. Was it because there was something there, something greater than normal? Soul mates?

If so, Sookie thought she was strangely calm and accepting of that. Her Grandmother had told her tales all throughout her childhood, magical tales of a soul mate that would have a mark similar to the one that she had. Though she liked to think she was old and sensible enough now not to believe those stories, she was having her doubts. All she had to do now, was work out whether or not he had a matching one himself. If so, those tales her Gran had told her were more reality rather than make-believe, something she never could have imagined possible.

"Can I see the back of your neck for-"

"-I would very much like to see the back of your neck."

Sookie laughed at the sheer weirdness of them talking over each other at the same time. Then seeing as there was no harm in it, she turned, facing him with her back. A smile came across her lips as she felt him use one hand to carefully hold her hair up, and as his knuckles brushed against the nape of her neck, peeling the fabric of her shirt away from her skin, she shuddered uncontrollably as the tips of his cold, large fingers glided over her birthmark.

She felt oddly at peace with him touching her birthmark; The very thing she often tried to hide with her T-shirts covering it over the years. When she craned her neck back to look at him, a strange feeling overcame her; A feeling suddenly radiating all over her as he stroked her birthmark with his fingers a couple of times. The feeling felt as if it was trying to consume her, settling something deep inside of her ablaze. She felt fiery hot in temperature all of a sudden and her birthmark seemed to burn where he had touched it as his fingers finally left it.

Then it was his turn and he knelt slightly in front of her so Sookie could reach, yanking the neck of his shirt down so that she could see whether he had a mark like hers. She gasped in wonder when she realized he had. He had her initials too, surely enough. _SS_, barely raised from the pale skin in the middle of his back. It wasn't exactly in the same place as hers was; It was a bit lower and directly in the center of his back, but it looked similar enough. She could only just see it, make it out through the glow of the moon that presented the only source of light, the faint red outline of her initials.

"When did you get yours?" Sookie breathed once her mind was clear from the shock of it all.

"I remember the exact date. May 24, at around eleven thirty at night. Twenty years ago."

Sookie felt her stomach drop. _May 24?_ That her was her birthdate. Gran had told her Sookie had arrived into the world at around eleven thirty in the evening. So his mark must have developed at the exact time and date she was born.

As Sookie traced her fingers gently over his mark, she felt the vampire gasp and shudder. The two SS's were just faint red thin outlines, finer than the finest of pen strokes. As she traced the S's with her forefinger, she drew back in wonderment when suddenly they seemed to glow, burning a light golden yellow in color, the outline of them, illuminating them up in the dark.

"Oh, my stars," Sookie mumbled in a quivering voice, her eyes widening as the letters shone brightly. "Does that hurt? Can you feel that?"

Clearly the vampire couldn't. She felt him shrug carelessly. "Feel what?" She was relieved he seemed just as shocked as she was, at the very least. They were both equally as shocked and surprised as each other, and Sookie was glad about that.

She felt a bizarre impulse to kiss the mark, to lay her lips against his back and inhale in hotly the glow of the letters, yet she battered the urge down and instead moved away, leaning against the trunk of the tree and putting an appropriate amount of distance between them. Last thing she wanted to do was to be too forward and scare him off somehow. She watched him as he fixed the back of his shirt up, and she felt as if someone had hit her over the head with a baseball bat. Did this mean what her Grandmother had often told her, with her tales while putting her into bed at night? That they were somehow, in fact, soul mates?

"Was yours troubling you all throughout the years?" She brought herself to speak softly after a couple of minutes. "Did yours itch too, like mine did?"

"It did, yes."

"And it stopped, just as you grabbed my arm that couple of nights ago when you were in at Merlotte's?" She was trying to understand, trying to make reasonable sense of it all.

"Yes, indeed it did. It had been bothering me for the past twenty years but stopped immediately after I touched you. Did you experience that zapping-like sensation over your mark as well?"

"I did." It wasn't as freaky when they were talking it over together sensibly and calmly. "You think it means we're meant to be? Like... soul mates?" Suddenly she felt embarrassed for mentioning it, but she could think of no other way to say it. "Like the marks were itching and bothering us because they were almost warning us that we had best find each other soon and be near to each other and to... to touch each other?" She felt her ears burn at the touching part. "There could be plenty of reasons for it all, I suppose. But that's the only easiest and realistic one I can think of? Besides my Gran used to tell me stories like that, of me having a soul mate with the initials E.N, like my birthmark. You think that's why we have each other's initials on our skin?"

"Soul mates?" The vampire repeated, and she could hear a tone of mocking in it. "There is no such thing as soul mates. And besides, I am a thousand year old vampire. Surely I cannot have a soul mate." Sookie got the feeling that he was almost making fun of her. It got her bristles up.

"Hey, it's just a silly suggestion," she retorted, insulted. "There's no need to make fun of me. And you're right; There's just no way someone like you could ever be my soul mate. I always believed that if I was going to have one, then he'd be... sweet and romantic and... you're none of that, are you?" She inspected what little she could see of him in the dark. He had one arm resting above her head against the trunk as he leaned near her. Sookie felt nothing but content and peace at his closeness, like it was absolutely right, the two of them being near. That didn't mean she liked him, though. "Far as I'm concerned, with what little I've seen of you, you're conceited and you think your shit don't stink. You're not exactly soul mate material, I got to say." He had her feeling defensive.

"Well, trust me. I feel the same fucking way about you," he replied, somewhat nonchalantly, yet Sookie almost thought she could hear disappointment and hurt in his tone. "I am a vampire. I do not have a human for a soul mate."

"Oh, ditto," Sookie grumbled under her breath. "Right back at you."

Another silence passed between them that felt wrought with bitterness.

Then the vampire said, out of the blue, troubled, "Every time I close my eyes, I see you now."

"Really?" she asked in surprise, folding her arms over her chest tightly.

"Yes. I don't know why." He did not sound very happy to admit that at all, and Sookie could feel as much. "It just happens for me now. Ever since we touched and got zapped."

"Well, I had a dream of you," she admitted to even out the playing field, although not without embarrassment.

"Oh, really?" She thought she caught him smile in the dark. "And what kind of dream might that be?"

"Just a rather... pleasant one," she got out under her breath. She didn't exactly feel all that comfortable with telling him just what the dream consisted of and, most of all, how hot and bothered it made her feel. "And for some reason, since that night at Merlotte's when I first saw you, I can't seem to get the thought of you outta my brain."

"Unfortunately I feel completely the same way."

Another silent moment passed between them, and Sookie became slowly aware that he was staring at her, looking her up and down with his eyes. No doubt, he had probably been doing that to her the whole time, perving away. She sure couldn't see him that good in the dark personally, herself. Then she realized she was supposed to be back inside working, and with some effort, she pushed herself off the tree and swooped away from him. Even as she did, her legs seemed to ache against it. It appeared to her that her body didn't want to leave his side, as if they were two magnets that were meant to stick together.

"Oh, shoot. I got to get back to work," Sookie told him, bending down to grab the knife from where she had sat it on the ground. "Nice talking to you, Eric Northman. Hopefully we can resume this another time?" The further she got away from him, the greater that loss inside of her chest seemed to build.

When she got back into Merlotte's, it was like she couldn't think properly. She had_ finally_ met her soul mate, and he had a matching mark with her initials on him to boot. She didn't care whether he didn't believe in soul mates or not; She did, and she knew that was what it meant. Finally, her EN had arrived. And he was a vampire.


	7. Chapter 7

_**I own nothing to do with TB, as usual.**_

_**Thank you guys so much, sorry for taking so long. Hope you find some enjoyment in this one. It's silly, as always :P**_

* * *

_**Chapter Seven**_

When Sookie got home, she found herself quivering with excitement. Her Grandmother was bound to be ecstatic by the news that Sookie had, at true last, found her soul mate. Her soul mate was a vampire of all people, and he had a matching mark with her initials to boot. Soon as she got inside, she found her grandmother Adele Hale Stackhouse waiting for her in the kitchen, immersed in one of her favorite books.

"Hello, honey," she said, the instance Sookie came into view.

"Hey, Gran."

"How did your night at work go?"

Sookie could hardly hold back from spilling the beans immediately. She knew her grandmother had been waiting on this moment for years, though she wasn't too sure how her reaction would be to knowing her soul mate had ended up being a reanimated corpse with no pulse. "Well, I'll just say that something... big happened tonight. Something that you'll no doubt be super pleased to hear."

"Now you've got my attention, honey." Gran closed her book up, staring at Sookie. "What is there that I'll be so pleased to hear?"

"Well, he finally showed up, Gran. My soul mate." Although it hadn't gone down very well, her meeting with the vampire, Sookie couldn't help smiling widely as her Gran made a deep noise of excitement while holding a hand to her chest.

"Oh, my. You met him? Finally?"

"I did, Gran. He finally showed up at last. It took a good... twenty years or so, but finally, here he is."

"So what was he like?"

"Dead," Sookie said, without thinking. She saw her Gran's face fall in confusion. "Well, he's... a vampire, Gran. He's... one of those people."

"Oh, my," Gran said again, blinking at her in shock. "I'll be damned."

"I know, right? It wasn't exactly what either of us were expecting my soul mate to be, huh?"

"Well, was he nice at the very least? Do you feel as though you immediately like him?"

Sookie felt her heart deflate over that question. That was what had her so puzzled. Weren't soul mates immediately meant to feel some unique and strong connection to each other? A strong and magical attraction, even?

"Not really, Gran. Honestly, I don't like him all that much," she admitted, disappointed. "If anything, he acted like a... an A-hole. He was in real big denial over the whole soul mate thing."

"Is he an old vampire, do you think?"

Sookie shrugged. "I reckon so."

"Well, then. Maybe that's why?" Gran asked, after a moment of deep thought. "Maybe he is just so old that he is naturally skeptical to the fact?"

"I wouldn't have a clue, either way. But... we looked at each other's backs, and we both have our initials on each other's skin. He has mine, and... I have his. Why should he be so skeptical when that much of solid proof is there?"

Gran didn't seem to know what to say to that. "Well, at least you can rest easy now, dear. You've met your soul mate, at true last. Clearly it isn't going to be smooth sailing, but at least you can find some rest in that. Everything should slowly settle into place, and he won't be able to deny for so long. Soon he'll realize its inevitable."

Inevitable? Sookie wasn't so sure she wanted it to be.

"I don't know." She dithered around the kitchen, trying to think of what more to say. When she realized she had practically said everything that needed to be said, she bent down to kiss Gran goodnight. "I'm off to bed now, Gran. Love you."

"Love you, too, honey. And it's exciting."

"Is it?"

"Oh, yes. You just wait. It can be a very strong and powerful thing between two people. Denial is fruitless. You'll both learn that rather soon."

Sookie had never really stopped to ask why and how her Gran knew so much, or no less why she believed so strongly in the soul mate thing. She wondered if Gran had maybe experienced this type of thing before in her time.

When she got upstairs, Sookie changed into her long T-shirt for bed. When she pulled back her bed sheets and slipped inside, resting the side of her cheek against the pillow, she sighed at the immediate warmth and comfort.

Despite how lacking she found her soul mate to be, Sookie couldn't beat away the feeling that everything had at last seemed to slide itself into place. No longer did she have to stress, wondering whether her Gran was actually correct about the entire soul mate story she had told Sookie as a younger girl.

Finally, her soul mate had arrived.

And, as it turned out, there was actual significant meaning to the birthmark on the back of her neck, after all. It wasn't just a mere Stork Bite, as she had heard the doctors call it. No, it was more than that; It was her soul mates mark, and he had a matching one himself.

They were destined to be together. Not once did the thought ever occur to Sookie that her E.N would be of the vampire persuasion, but really, you couldn't have everything you wanted in life, could you? In this, she couldn't afford to be picky.

* * *

When Sookie got into work the next day, she hardly had time to think about her soul mate, Eric Northman, not when she was left busy on her feet, racing from table to table in her section to take down orders from customers. When the sun began to come down, Sookie was too preoccupied to even look out the windows to take notice of how dark it was outside.

Thoughts assaulted her from left, right, and center, and she was finding it harder than usual to keep her mental guard in place, which made her agitated. She had just sauntered straight over to the kitchen area to pass in an order when she felt it pass through her. Her shoulders stiffened and her back went rigid.

A vampire had entered Merlotte's. And, whoever that vampire may be, they were a Godsend. Instantly the loud thoughts being hurled at her died down into just a ringing peaceful silence from the vampire. It was like having a long, soothing bath after having been stuck on your feet all day. Or like having a refreshing ice-cold glass of iced-tea after having been working in the sweltering sun non-stop.

In other words, it was glorious.

When she spun around in the direction of the vampire, she felt her hands begin to shake. Goddamn it, it was him, of all vampires.

Her soul mate, whether he felt otherwise or not. Gran's words came to mind again. Denial is fruitless. He walked into the bar as if he owned the whole goddamn place, in a certain confident way that turned plenty of heads around. Sookie caught Jane, one of the drunks that constantly came in of an evening, full-on gape at the vampire. So he did look good. Very good. He was about the finest hunk Sookie thought she had ever seen in her life. Still, good looks weren't everything. Underneath all that packaging was a vamp who thought his shit didn't stink.

_And maybe it didn't, but still..._

With dread, she noticed he found an available seat in her section which meant she had no choice but to serve him. Really, it was the very last thing she felt she wanted to do. If she had her way, Sookie would have avoided him completely.

In a moment of sheer vanity, Sookie ran into the ladies restrooms to make sure she still looked her best. She flattened her hair down that was in its tight bun. She pulled her lipstick out of the pocket of her uniform and applied it again neatly, puckering her lips.

Then she went back out, her eyes seeking out his head from where he sat at the table with his back facing her. In a way that unnerved her, without warning he turned to look behind his shoulder, his eyes landing directly on her. It was so sudden and unexpected that it made a feeling of warmth gush through her and her fingers started with their pathetic trembling again as she grabbed her notepad and pencil out from in her apron.

Somehow, she managed to walk to his table without suffering a heart attack. Her heart skipped a beat and her hands were still trembling as she clutched her pencil and notepad tightly in them. When he peered up at her again, his gaze positively devoured her. His eyes went from her face, down her shirt, down to her legs and her shoes, then back up again, pausing at where her bosoms would be under her shirt in what Sookie felt a very inappropriate way.

Regardless of that, pure unadulterated joy seeped through her in a scary way at seeing him and being close to him again. She wasn't entirely sure why she felt so happy the way she did, but she just did.

"Fancy seeing you here again," she spoke, before even realizing what she was saying. Her voice sounded too cheerful, too... breathless.

"Miss Stackhouse." At the sound of his smooth voice, she was about to hurtle herself at him, throw her arms around him. The urge came on so strongly, and from nowhere. She had to physically restrain herself by grabbing the table, pushing her body away.

But then she saw how he was leaning slightly off the chair himself towards her, how he had lifted both hands to grip both the edge of the seat and the table with them, like he was catching himself from falling. Falling to her. It was like they were walking-talking magnets, matched to collide and stick to each other. Her ears started humming as a strange feeling of fuzziness radiated from her skin and when she sucked in a deep breath, it was embarrassingly shaky.

"What... what brings you here tonight?" she asked, trying to act normal despite it all.

"Actually, I was bored. I had nothing better to do."

She was standing too close, closer than what was necessary. She glanced down self-consciously, aware that she was practically standing over him. His legs were stretched out and her feet were standing in between them. Had he closed his legs those few inches more, their ankles would be touching. And their shoes.

"Oh, great," she said, not really hearing anything of sense. She was too hyper-aware of just how much she was invading his personal space senselessly, but it wasn't as if he actually showed he cared a bit.

Her hand was still resting flat on the tabletop while she restrained herself with effort, and when she glanced down, she discovered that his hand was sliding across the table, his fingers trembling like he had no control on the movement whatsoever. Apparently she wasn't the only one, after all.

Then his fingers made contact with hers, his long forefinger rubbing back and forth over her thumb, and Sookie almost moaned aloud. Horrified at her lack of control, she forcefully moved back a few steps while tucking a strand of her hair back behind her ear. Her thumb seemed to tingle from the previous contact. Why on earth was she feeling this way? What the heck was going on?

"Um, anyway," she blurted out nervously, "You want to know what I wouldn't be doing?"

"What?" he asked, eyeing her with a look of distaste that seemed pathetically forced. He had to be feeling it too, didn't he?

"I wouldn't be ordering a bottle of Tru Blood while I'm your waitress, that's for sure. It puts me in too much of a position of power."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Because, soul mate or not, first thing I'd do, would be slipping some liquid silver in it to poison you with." It was the only sensible thing she could think of doing; Pretending like he didn't affect her in anyway whatsoever. She was sending those looks of disgust he had for her right back at him.

Much to her disappointment, Eric hardly looked insulted at all. If anything, he looked as though he was finding it hard to hold back a laugh; Amusement flickered in his eyes. "Oh, trust me. If you were actually my soul mate- if they actually do exist, of course, which I know for a fact that they don't- I would be drinking that bottle of blood laced with silver willingly if it was the only solution I had left to get away from you."

She made a scoffing noise, insulted. "You disgust me."

"Likewise." He slouched back in the chair, eyeing her outfit from head to toe again in a way that started to make her feel self-conscious. "While the packaging _is_ pretty, everything else is rather... lacking."

"Ditto, Mr Shit Don't Stink."

"I'm leaving. I have no desire to spend time with silly humans like yourself."

"Good, do leave then," she huffed out. "I don't get why you bothered to even come here in the first place?"

He stood and all of her self-restraint seemed to snap. Next thing she knew, Sookie's arms had come around him while her body was up against his.

A stunned breath left Eric at feeling of her body up against him. When he peered down at her face, he saw the embarrassment there in her wide dark brown eyes and he felt her arms drop lower, her hands squeezing his buttocks under his jeans. He stiffened again, his eyes falling to her lips.

He wanted to kiss her then, surprisingly.

He actually wanted to kiss the human, which was pathetic.

He was supposed to be a bad-ass vampire. He did not kiss humans. Not ever.

Clearly something was gravely wrong here. He could hardly control himself. The instance he had looked at her when she walked towards him, he felt as if he wanted to pounce on her. Feel her warm skin against his. For a vampire who exercised in perfect self-control, it was astounding how quickly it had all seemed to vanish simply by being near this human waitress. This... Sookie who believed they were soul mates.

When he focused on her face again, she was peering up at him in a gentle way that almost screamed to him, _Kiss me!_

And, fuck it, if he wasn't tempted to...

Instead, he found her arms blindly that were still around him and grabbed them, pushing her away. She looked both as if she wanted to cry and hit herself then.

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry," she said, her eyes falling down to her hands. "I... I don't know what just came over me then, but I-"

"-It's already forgotten," he spoke over her, his voice harder than he had intended it to be.

Her face scrunched up suddenly, surprising him. "Eww," she muttered, though it seemed exaggerated. "Gross, I can't believe I just touched your butt. Talk about having no standards." Before Sookie could so much as let her upset show, she turned away quickly before he could see anything.

She thought it was supposed to be easy, having a soul mate; That the connection and attraction was almost instant. But apparently not, when it came to her and her E.N. She shook her head, her heart deflating more by the second as if it was a balloon that had been viciously stabbed with a pin.

She had seen the look of sheer disgust on his face, and that hurt her, most of all, in a surprising way. Even her supposed soul mate was disgusted by her. Fortunately, she got the distraction she needed rather than dwelling on it, when Lafayette stalled her by the kitchen.

"Idiot," Eric grumbled under his breath to himself, watching her go. Why did he insist on acting like a complete bastard in front of her?

He went to leave, until he heard her laugh with his advanced hearing. The mere pleasant sound alone had his nonfunctional heart feel as though she was squeezing it between her hands. When he turned to glance back at her, he saw she was talking to another human, her hands moving quickly and enthusiastically as she spoke. He focused on the human she was talking to more closely.

Lafayette Reynolds. He recognized the human as being known as a buyer and seller of vampire blood. Aside from all that, he also seemed to know the Sookie human very well.

_Hmm, it had its possibilities..._

With his mind made up, he smirked to himself while heading out of Merlotte's. He went to a secluded corner of the bar outside, and waited. It took barely half an hour later for the human to come out jiggling his set of car keys while he hummed an unfamiliar tune to himself. When the human's back was facing him as he found and began unlocking his car with his keys, Eric took the moment then to startle him. The parking lot was virtually deserted with no humans around. If the human tried to scream, he could put a stop to that quite easily. And quickly.

In all things considered, it was the perfect fucking moment.

Using his vampire speed, he had Lafayette by the shoulder.

"The fuck?" He heard the human cry.

"Hello, Lafayette. Long time, no see."

He got him by the shoulder and shoved him around while tightening one hand over his throat, throwing him back against the car door with a thunk. The human's heart beat fast and already, he was shaking. He tightened his hand around his throat, not enough that he was choking him, but just enough pressure to really make him quiver.

"Look, I don't know what the fuck it is that you want from me, but I'll-"

"Tell me everything you know, leaving nothing out," Eric commanded. He could literally smell the fear reeking out of every inch of the humans pores. And, if he had to be completely honest, it was thrilling.

"Tell you about what?" Lafayette panted. "I don't know shit!"

"Oh, I think you do." He lifted him by throat easily, Lafayette's feet dangling in the air. The human gasped and made a noise of terror. "I think you _know exactly_ what I need to know, Lafayette. Tell me everything about the waitress."

"Waitress?" He swallowed loudly. "Which waitress is you meaning? There's plenty of waitresses working here. You're gonna have to be a little more specific?"

"The blonde waitress," he ground out impatiently. "The Sookie Stackhouse waitress."

He saw the understanding ripple through Lafayette's eyes then. "Shit, you is really asking the wrong person. My cousin would know more than I do, but I'll try my fucking best. What you want to know?"

Eric brought out his fangs, seeing him flinch. "Let's not get smart. Tell me everything you do know about her."

"Like what?"

"_Everything_."

"Like I said, motherfucker, you're gonna have to be a little bit more specific?"

Eric thought for a moment deeply while the human breathed heavily. Really, what was there that he didn't want to know about her?

"What does she like to eat?" he settled on, looking Lafayette over, hopefully in a menacing way. "What is her favorite color? What-"

"-Like I said," Lafayette panted, his voice hoarse. "I ain't the right bitch to be asking. You'd be better off asking my cousin Tara. She knows more shit about Sookie than I do. Besides, why you want to know all of this unimportant shit about her? Your dead, pale ass hot for her or some shit like that?"

"What kind of man does she like? What... characteristics?"

"Well, let me tell you; Not an evil, bad motherfucker like you, for one thing. She don't like the type that you are, that's for damn sure. She likes them soft and... and sweet."

_Soft and sweet?_ He was hoping he wouldn't say that.

"Who was her last boyfriend?"

"Not any that I know of. Shit, I don't think she's ever even had sex before. She's a good, pristine girl like that."

Eric hummed to himself in delight. _She was still a virgin? How sweet it is._ "Does she have any pets?"

Lafayette's mouth opened and closed in bewilderment. "Look, um, I don't really..."

Eric relinquished his grip on Lafayette. The human crumpled to the ground, hugging himself fearfully.

"Excellent, Lafayette. I think we're done here."


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much!**

**Hope you enjoy this one :) Hopefully its progress for them lol.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Once Sookie's shift finished for the night and she started driving home, she still felt depressed and sad over how the evening's events had gone with her soul mate, Eric Northman. She just couldn't understand; If they truly were meant to be soul mates, then how could he be so mean to her? Really, she knew she shouldn't have let his words and behavior affect her that badly. She couldn't help it, though.

Once she pulled up into the driveway and got inside, her Gran was waiting in her spot in the kitchen again, halfway through reading her book. She sat up straighter when Sookie came in, hanging her bag up on the rack by the front door.

"Hello, Sookie. How was your night tonight?"

"Lousy," Sookie admitted, quite sullenly. When she reached the kitchen, she slumped against the door-frame. "Guess who came in tonight again?"

"Who?"

"My soul mate," Sookie confessed reluctantly.

"And?" Gran stared at her, almost waiting on pins and needles for any exciting news. Pity there wasn't any to tell. "How was progress? Is he still fighting it, dear?"

"Oh, he's more than just fighting it, Gran," Sookie grumbled in irritation. "I just can't believe it! How can I possibly be soul mates with this... this mean vampire? He said that while my body was nice, my face was lacking. Or something along those lines." She waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Honestly, I never got what he was trying to say. But it was just.. it hurt my feelings. I thought soul mates were meant to be... perfect for each other?"

"Well, clearly it's going to be harder if he is fighting." Gran's voice took on a sympathetic air. "He's probably an old vampire, and the idea of soul mates... it's maybe something he doesn't believe. But as I said, fighting is pointless. He'll realize that in time, dear."

While Gran said it to cheer Sookie up in some way, she felt anything but. "Yeah, but thing is, Gran, I'm not so sure I'm wanting him to start believing. I just can't believe that my soul mate, of all people, turns out to be this mean, obnoxious vampire!" Sookie thought about how she had felt while around him, the way she had seemed to forgo all sense of control on her limbs. "It was so... scary, Gran. I had a hard time from restraining myself from throwing my arms around him!" Sookie grimaced in embarrassment when she remembered how her hands had sat on his backside. "It was like I lost all control of my limbs, like my body had a mind of its own just because he was near!"

"Oh, I think that is quite normal, dear," Gran assured her confidently with a short laugh. "It's your bodies way of acknowledging that you two are meant to be. While your heads might try to fight against it, your bodies know that they are destined to be near each other."

Maybe Gran was right on that? Sookie wondered. Her body certainly felt moved by him, like it wanted to get close to him and never leave, as though they were two magnets that were designed for nothing more than to stick against each other.

"You think that's why?" Sookie asked her doubtfully. "Because our bodies know, deep down inside, that we're destined for each other?"

"Well, that is the only explanation I can find reasonable enough."

"Gran, how do you know so much about soul mates?" Sookie asked curiously. "Or was it just something you've read out of your romance novels?"

"Something I just read out of my romance novels?" Gran laughed. "Of course not, honey. Believe it or not, I had a soul mate myself, back in the day."

Sookie's brows rose in astonishment. "With Grandpa, you mean?" she asked skeptically.

"No, it wasn't Grandpa Earl. It was another man. I met him when I was in my early twenties, just after I had married your great-Grandpa Earl. The concept of human marriage never seemed to phaze him; He went after me regardless, and hard."

"He was a vampire?"

Gran paused for a moment, thinking deeply. Sookie could tell that she wasn't quite certain just what he was. "No, I wouldn't say he was a... vampire exactly, dear. He was... different compared to other men. He could flash light out of his fingers and he said I made the best and meanest spaghetti in all the realm." Gran waved her hand in the air dismissively, blushing. "I hadn't the slightest idea what he meant by that, though I did take it as a compliment at the time."

"Wow then," Sookie said in bewilderment.

She had no idea that her Gran had experienced a soul mate connection herself; If so, then it was truly no wonder her Gran was so adamant on the idea of soul mates existing in the world.

"But you've never told me this before? Not even once?" Sookie shook her head to get over the shock. "And so what happened to him? Your soul mate? I know you were still married to Grandpa Earl?"

"Well, I don't know what happened to him, dear." Gran looked a little lost as she sat her bookmark in her book to keep her place. "Something happened, and he just disappeared after about two weeks. Never saw him ever again."

"Do you feel sad about that? About never seeing him again?" Sookie could tell her Gran could.

"I just wonder sometimes about how it all would have gone, of how it all would have been. I admit that there isn't a day that goes by where I do not think of that funnily dressed young man that begged for me to make him spaghetti."

"You have his initials on you as well?"

"I do," Gran admitted, almost breathlessly. "On my inner thigh. That's why when you were born, when your father called me on the phone and explained to me about your birthmark, that I knew it wasn't just any plain, old birthmark. It was your soul mates mark; Your E.N."

Sookie still didn't understand why, if her grandmother had a soul mate, then how she could have been able to resume her marriage with Earl as if things were normal. "But you were married to Grandpa for over fifty years and he never suspected anything?"

"Never. After Niall up and left, I realized I'd just have to sit back and resume my marriage with Earl. I'm not saying it wasn't the most challenging time of my life, especially when there was a part of me that always wished for Niall, but... I managed it, in the end."

"Niall?" Sookie repeated. "So that was his name? Niall?"

"Oh, yes. Niall Brigant." Her grandmother shivered dreamily.

"Well, who knows, Gran?" Sookie said, attempting to cheer her grandmother up, "Just maybe one of these days this Niall Brigant might reappear, asking to come in and for you to make him a bowl of spaghetti?"

Gran sighed longingly. "Oh, I doubt that, dear. Unfortunately, I feel he is long gone now."

"You never know, though," Sookie kept up. Tonight's conversation with Gran had really given her things to thing about. She pushed off the door-frame. "Well, I'm gonna get to bed, Gran. Love you."

"Yes, love you, too."

When Sookie climbed upstairs and got changed into her long T-shirt for bed, she realized her mood had improved some. Worst case scenario, if her soul mate kept fighting their connection, it was possible for Sookie to resume a normal relationship with someone else. Her grandmother had showed her as much into how capable it was.

Once Sookie got into work the next afternoon, she felt some tension from the other staff, particularly Lafayette. He was acting strange, and Sookie couldn't help but sense that he was mad at her over something. Every time she went to pass on an order, he'd act aloof and short with her. As far as Sookie knew, she hadn't done anything wrong to him, had she?

By the time she had returned to the kitchen with a new round of orders, she was fed up. "Hey, Lafayette. Have I done something wrong to you? For the life of me, I can't figure out what it is?"

Usually her and Lafayette got on like a house on fire. They'd joke and laugh. Tonight, however, he would ignore her or always keep his back turned to her while he cooked. It wasn't like him.

"I ain't no matchmaking service, Hooker, that's all I'm saying," he said, shooting a look in her direction before turning away again.

Sookie's face scrunched up in confusion. "When did I ever say you was?"

"Well, clearly that's what tall, blonde and dead assumed I is last night. I'm all for you finally getting a piece, but next time, Sook, you gotta handle it all on your own."

Tall, blonde and dead? Was he referring to who she thought he was?

"What? Did he do something to you?" Sookie asked, her voice shrill in outrage.

"He got me in a fucking choke-hold last night, while asking all this stupid-ass shit about you. About your likes, dislikes. If you got any pets, what your favorite color is..."

"You're kidding me?" Sookie was almost trembling in outrage. She couldn't believe it; How dare he!

Lafayette batted his false-eyelashes at her, "Is I looking like I am?" His thoughts told her he was being one-hundred-percent serious. "I mightn't know what is going on between you and that hunky piece of dead meat, but please, keep me out of it."

"Gosh, Lafayette. I'm so sorry! I didn't realize!"

When Sookie jumped back into working, in going around tables, asking if anyone needed any refreshments, she still felt as though her head was going to fly off her shoulders any... minute now. She couldn't believe what Lafayette was telling her. First, the vampire had dared to be mean to her last night and insult her. Then he had to go and scare Lafayette, getting him into a choke-hold while demanding answers to all of these ridiculous questions about her. Who the hell did he think he was?

If only Sookie knew where he lived, because then she would have turned up after work to give him a mouthful of what was on her mind. She was livid, and her hands kept shaking non-stop throughout the night. Once her shift was over, she still felt red-faced with fury.

Once she got into her car, she switched her brain off for a moment, letting her body direct her to where she wanted to go. She didn't feel like heading straight home to Gran like she usually did once work was finished. No, she felt too angry.

She let her feet stop and accelerate without thought, let her hands guide the steering wheel into whichever direction they chose. She took a left down a street, then went down a long residential area. Almost half an hours driving, and then her hands flicked on the blinkers and she turned left into a busy parking lot. When she came into her right mind again, Sookie sat up against the steering wheel, blinking heavily in confusion at where she had driven herself.

She certainly hadn't been in this area before, but it was almost like her body was familiar with it all and knew where to take her to get there. It was a weird mind-out-of-body experience that shook Sookie for a moment as she inspected her unfamiliar surroundings.

She had parked the car in the parking lot of a place called 'Fangtasia'- or so the glowing neon red light told her out front. She didn't even know what Fangtasia was exactly, but the name told her it had everything to do with vampires. Then she saw the line out front of people, and realized it was a bar. A bar for vampires, perhaps? Why on earth had her body guided her there, of all places?

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Sookie yanked her hair out of her ponytail and grabbed her pink lip-gloss out of her purse, applying some on before climbing out of the car and locking it up securely. She didn't even know there was a vampire bar in Louisiana, for goodness sake.

She pulled down her Merlotte's T-shirt self-consciously as she watched all the people lined up to get in. She was severely under-dressed in her work uniform, while others were dressed up to the nines, in rocker get-up and Gothic, skimpy clothes like fishnet stockings and band T-shirts. Why had she taken herself here?

A male vampire was at the door, carding people. She felt that familiar void inside his head that told her he was a member of the undead community. He had long mangled black hair, and was wearing leather pants and a band T-shirt. When her time came, Sookie smiled at him tensely as she grabbed her I.D out from inside her purse.

"How funny," she laughed nervously. "Getting carded at a vampire bar." The man's dark eyes stared at her for a moment nerve-wrackingly before scrutinizing the picture on her I.D. "You're a vampire," she stated stupidly.

"No shit," the vampire muttered. Sookie caught a glimpse of his fangs. "Tell me something I don't already know."

"You wouldn't happen to know another vampire called Eric Northman by any chance, would you?" she blabbed out before she could stop herself.

The vampire fixed a foreboding look on her while passing back her I.D. "He's my boss, and he's inside. Why? You came all the way here just to see him, little chick? So what? You're not the first..."

_Oh, great. Her soul mate was inside the bar. _Now Sookie thought she knew why her body had led her to the vampire bar, of all places. What had Gran told her last night? That it was her bodies way of telling her that they were destined to be?

"I'm his soul mate," Sookie said shakily, without thought.

"Is that so?" The vampires staring was starting to unnerve her. He looked bored and unimpressed. "Well, you know how many times I've heard that line from humans in the past six months? Try around the hundreds mark, and get a new one..."

What?

"You tell that to his face, and I assure you, tonight will be your last..." the vampire trailed off menacingly before moving aside to let her in.

Sookie stared at him uncomprehendingly before pushing her way into the bar. The narrow hallway was lined with pictures on the red walls of vampire movies, like Dracula. The further along she went, the louder the heavy metal music and the thoughts of non-vampire patrons came.

Sookie felt her hands start to tingle as she reached into the big main room, and she felt both shock and wonder at what she saw. She certainly wasn't expecting the bar to look as it did; There were vampire dancers who moved so fast it was a blur. For some reason, her legs took her further away from the bar where people were lining up to get drinks.

"Boring," Eric spat out from up in his chair to Pam, who was standing next to him. "Staking my eyes out would be more fun than this."

"Tell me about it," Pam said, before she saw the female human that was aimlessly looking around the bar about one foot away from them. "On second thoughts, I think tonight just got interesting."

When Eric glanced up at her in confusion, wondering what the fuck she was talking about, Pam gestured towards someone in the bar with interest. Eric's eyes flickered towards the person, and the instance they met the body of the woman standing a foot away, he felt that disturbing itching sensation along the middle of his back, irritating his mark.

What were the odds that she would appear in the bar tonight, of all humans?

He shifted uncomfortably in the chair when his eyes raked down what she was wearing; She was still in her waitress uniform, yet her blonde hair was out, flowing around her shoulders and collarbone. Like last night, how he had felt when being near her in that bar in Bon Temps, he felt compelled to stand from the chair and be near her. It was disturbing, frankly; He felt like rubbing himself all over her, smothering himself into her tanned skin like lotion.

As Sookie's wonder died down a bit, she began to be aware of what else she was feeling. Her breaths came out short and rapid, like she had just ran all the way into the bar and the skin at the nape of her neck was pulsing.

It felt burning hot and she recognized why it was happening to her all too well. Her stomach clenched in dread as she turned her head. Her eyes immediately sought out the cause of these entirely uncomfortable sensations drowning her.

Damn it, she had let herself walk blindly straight into a trap, where he would be, her soul mate in denial.

He was sitting up on a stage in a chair with a female vampire right behind him, and with some uneasiness, she realized he was staring directly at her. There were blood-red curtains behind them and a fake tree and if Sookie hadn't felt so nervous, she might have scoffed under her breath.

Then she remembered what he had done to Lafayette and, despite all the discomforting sensations attacking her, fury broke through the surface. Now was the perfect time as any to let him know a piece of her mind.

Straightening her shoulders and setting her chin, she started making the walk towards him, noticing how his eyes wouldn't leave her. Even as he said something to his female vampire friend which made her climb off the stage and leave, his eyes remained on nothing else but her.

She tried to make her face look disgusted, even though she thought he looked handsome tonight, in dark jeans, a leather jacket, and tight-fitting T-shirt. Only when she came closer and she caught his expression better in the glow of the lights, she discovered with some confusion that he no longer looked disgusted by her as he had last night. He looked something else, though she wasn't sure what it was.

"Miss Stackhouse," he greeted, nodding once. "What a surprise. What brings you here to my bar this evening?" At the sound of his voice alone, Sookie felt the terrible urge to straddle him in that chair right there. But then she thought she caught a patronizing tone to his voice, and she folded her arms over her chest while kicking that urge down. "Oh, wait. Really, I shouldn't have to ask. It's me, no doubt?"

Sookie's disgusted face worked with her this time. "Oh, please," she scoffed. "You wish." She had to clear her throat, before saying strongly, "I just want to know who the hell you think you are, doing what you did to one of my good friends like that?"

She felt the rage simmer in her even more when he glanced away from her for a moment, feigning thought while stroking around his chin with his finger. He leaned forward in the chair and Sookie felt the mark on the back of her neck pulsate harder.

"I have no idea in the slightest of what you are talking about," he said very convincingly with a shrug. "Whoops, sorry."

"Oh, I'm sure you do," she said, her voice rising over the music. "My friend Lafayette, who also works with me told me that _not only_ did you get him into a choke-hold, but you were asking questions about me? Anything ring any bells now with that?"

When he had the audacity to just sit there silently, ignoring her questions while his eyes roamed down her clothes, Sookie was incensed enough that she stood up on the stage over him, close enough that her legs brushed his kneecaps.

"You know, if you want to know something about me, then you might as well ask your questions to me instead of involving other people into it," she stated, trying to sound firm and strong. "Seeing as we're soul mates and all, I figure that is the very least you could do!"

That sudden bout of confidence she felt deflated when, without warning, he stood, looming over her in all of his six-foot-something height. His chest brushed against hers through the fabric of his shirt and along with being so close the way they were, Sookie felt all the little hairs stick up at end on her arms.

"So ask away," she demanded, staring at a spot on his shirt to avoid looking him in the eye. If he was trying to intimidate her, he had succeeded. "Usually that is what normal people do when they try to find out stuff about the other person. If you wanna know about me, then let's do this, right here, right now."

She swallowed dryly before finding enough courage to lift her eyes up to his face. He was studying her in a strangely gentle way, almost devouring her with his eyes. It was definitely a massive improvement considering how, last night, he seemed as though he felt she was something grotesque to look at.

She caught his arm move out of the corner of her eye and then he said loudly and clearly in a voice that told her he got his way often, "Another chair."

It all sank in when she noticed the vampire that had carded her outside was carrying a chair in his arms. He sat it down next to her before sending a swift nod her soul mates way. When Eric lowered himself back into his chair, he stabbed a finger at the empty chair beside him.

"Sit," he muttered, though she could tell it was more so a threat than an offer. When she sat, she watched as he straightened his long legs out on the floor. Then he moved them in her direction, caught her feet between his legs, and pressed tightly. Sookie couldn't tell whether it was a deliberate move to annoy her or not, but it did help some with making her mark stop pulsating so annoyingly the way it was. "As you just put it so eloquently, let's do this. Shall we?"

"Okay," she agreed, feeling her anger immediately dissolve. She wasn't expecting him to agree so easily, and it threw her off for a moment. Once she got her bearings back into gear, she glanced his way again. He was still watching her, in an unnerving intense way. "Should I go first? Or do you want to?"

When he never said anything, just simply sat an elbow on the arm of his chair to start stroking around his chin, she realized she would have to be the one to start.

"Okay, I guess I'll begin then, seeing as you seem perfectly content to keep quiet." Without any control on what she was doing, she started rubbing her hand back and forth over her arm. The way he was staring at her with such avid concentration, it made her feel oddly... tingly. "So you don't believe in soul mates?" It was the only question she could think of.

"I don't," he admitted without hesitation. "I have been on this earth for over a thousand years and not once have I heard anything about this soul mate bullshit." When Sookie opened her mouth to retort back, he got out quickly, "But of course, it hardly surprises me that you would believe in soul mates. It seems the type of foolish romantic drivel that you humans believe in nowadays."

Sookie bit down the urge to yell at him. "Okay, so you don't believe in soul mates." She tried to sound calm and rational about it all. "But _surely_, you can't deny that _there is_ something freaky happening here, right?" Lifting her hand, she gestured between them. "You said you felt it yourself? That zapping sensation when we first touched, and then.. everything else?" She felt hot just mentioning it to him. "I'm guessing you've never felt that before? I certainly haven't, so... _obviously something_ is happening here, don't you think?"

Like before, he simply stared at her, rather impassively while stroking around his chin. She would have killed for the chance to know what he was thinking on this or to know whether or not she was finally starting to get through to him, the stubborn jackass that he was.

"And what about those initials on our backs?" she went on, using all the evidence she could find. "You've got mine, and I've got yours? Unless you've got any other decent explanation for it all, I just... I think we're soul mates." She didn't care how impassioned and desperate she sounded. "I mean, _what else _could-"

"- I _do not_ have a human for a soul mate," he cut through her words firmly, his nose scrunching up. "While _it is_ an entertaining theory, I'll give you that; it is just not possible."

"Oh? And_ why_ isn't it possible?" she ground out through her teeth irritably. "Deny it all you want, but _I know_ what this means. Trust me, I'm not all that pleased that you've turned out to be my soul mate, either, but _neither of us_ can deny that there's a possibility there that its true! My grandmother has been telling me, ever since I was a little girl, that those initials on my back meant that I had a soul mate out there that was right for me!"

"Well, there are plenty of humans out there with the same initials as mine," he muttered indifferently, still evidently trying to fight against it.

Sookie stared him down with all her might, leaning on her side in the chair closer towards him. "I know that, I'm not dumb," she whispered furiously. "But either way, even if there was, we'd see that they don't effect us like how it is with you and me. I mean, we can hardly be near without wanting to throw ourselves at each other!"

She shot a pointed look down at his hand. While one hand was stroking his chin, the other closest to her had started wandering towards her, whether he realized it had or not. She watched as he glanced down at his hand himself, and he clenched it tightly into a fist before slouching far away from her in the chair with obvious difficulty.

"You see what I mean now?" she asked, perhaps a bit too excitedly. "Our bodies know that we are destined to be together, that we're soul mates!"

He clenched his eyes shut tightly for a moment and she watched as he ground his teeth together. She could hear him breathing raggedly as he tried to control himself. The fact that he was fighting this that hard; it was so ridiculous to her!

"See?" Unable to help it, she fell back in the chair with triumphant laughter. "Denial is fruitless- or so my Gran says. Sooner or later, either you or I are gonna crack eventually. These past few times of being around you, you weren't very nice to me and I ought to feel disgusted by you, yet there's something in me that won't let me truly feel that, no matter how hard I try!"

Stunning her, he stood from his chair abruptly, turning his back on her. Sookie's laughter and smile immediately went.

"That is enough," he snapped gruffly, and when he looked down at her past his shoulder, she saw his fangs were extended and he was breathing heavily through them. His eyes slithered down her critically, wounding her, "You and I..." His voice was so low, so throaty, that she almost couldn't hear him, "We are done here." To top it all off, he snarled at her through his fangs rudely before stomping away off the stage and out of sight.

Sookie sat in confusion for a moment, wrapping her arms around her chest, wondering what she had done wrong as that hollow sensation due to him leaving filled her chest. Then it occurred to her he was still fighting it; He stormed off in a huff because he didn't want to have to listen to it. She huffed under her breath incredulously before getting to her feet and climbing down the stage, towards the exit. _Good Lord, what was with him? Still being kept in denial about everything when the evidence was there?_

Oh, well. At least she had tried, hadn't she? It wasn't her problem if he was being a stubborn ox, but hopefully he would come around.

**Hope you enjoyed this one? Don't worry, Eric won't deny for too long :)**


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